Vulnerability-Lookup

GHSA-VMR9-J6WF-PMH2

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-08-20 18:39 – Updated: 2026-08-20 18:39

Summary

netty-incubator-codec-ohttp: [OHttpServerCodec] Native Direct-Memory Leak on AEAD Decryption Failure Leads to Gateway Denial of Service

Details

The netty-incubator-codec-ohttp library implements Oblivious HTTP (OHTTP) gateway and client functionality using Netty's ByteBuf memory management. When an OHTTP gateway processes encrypted client requests, it allocates a pooled direct (native off-heap) ByteBuf to hold the decrypted plaintext before the AEAD tag is verified. If the AEAD tag check fails — meaning the ciphertext is invalid — the decryption method throws a CryptoException, but the allocated buffer is never released because no try/finally block guards the allocation.

Severity

8.7 (High)


                  
                    CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

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{
  "affected": [
    {
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Maven",
        "name": "io.netty.incubator:netty-incubator-codec-ohttp"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "0.0.23.Final"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2026-54251"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-664"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": true,
    "github_reviewed_at": "2026-08-20T18:39:50Z",
    "nvd_published_at": null,
    "severity": "HIGH"
  },
  "details": "The **netty-incubator-codec-ohttp** library implements Oblivious HTTP (OHTTP) gateway and client functionality using Netty\u0027s `ByteBuf` memory management. When an OHTTP gateway processes encrypted client requests, it allocates a pooled direct (native off-heap) `ByteBuf` to hold the decrypted plaintext before the AEAD tag is verified. If the AEAD tag check fails \u2014 meaning the ciphertext is invalid \u2014 the decryption method throws a `CryptoException`, but the allocated buffer is never released because no `try/finally` block guards the allocation.",
  "id": "GHSA-vmr9-j6wf-pmh2",
  "modified": "2026-08-20T18:39:50Z",
  "published": "2026-08-20T18:39:50Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/netty/netty-incubator-codec-ohttp/security/advisories/GHSA-vmr9-j6wf-pmh2"
    },
    {
      "type": "PACKAGE",
      "url": "https://github.com/netty/netty-incubator-codec-ohttp"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/netty/netty-incubator-codec-ohttp/releases/tag/netty-incubator-codec-parent-ohttp-0.0.23.Final"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N",
      "type": "CVSS_V4"
    }
  ],
  "summary": "netty-incubator-codec-ohttp: [OHttpServerCodec] Native Direct-Memory Leak on AEAD Decryption Failure Leads to Gateway Denial of Service"
}

CVE-2026-54251 (GCVE-0-2026-54251)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-09-15 17:13 – Updated: 2026-09-15 17:36

Title

netty-incubator-codec-ohttp: [OHttpServerCodec] Native Direct-Memory Leak on AEAD Decryption Failure Leads to Gateway Denial of Service

Summary

netty-incubator-codec-ohttp implements Oblivious HTTP (OHTTP) gateway and client functionality using Netty. Prior to 0.0.23.Final, the OHTTP gateway decryption path in codec-ohttp/src/main/java/io/netty/incubator/codec/ohttp/OHttpRequestResponseContext.java allocates a pooled direct ByteBuf for decrypted plaintext before the AEAD tag is verified. When an invalid tag causes decryptChunk() to throw CryptoException, OHttpRequestResponseContext.decodeChunk() does not release the ByteBuf because the allocation is not guarded by try/finally. Repeated invalid encrypted requests can therefore leak native off-heap memory until the gateway is unable to continue serving requests. This issue is fixed in version 0.0.23.Final.

Severity

8.7 (High)


                        
                          CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

SSVC

Exploitation: none Automatable: yes Technical Impact: partial

CISA Coordinator · CISA-ADP (v2.0.3)

Decision recorded 2026-09-15 17:36 UTC

CWE

CWE-664 - Improper Control of a Resource Through its Lifetime

Assigner

GitHub_M mitre root Scorecard

References

3 references

URL	Tags
https://github.com/netty/netty-incubator-codec-oh…	x_refsource_CONFIRM
https://github.com/netty/netty-incubator-codec-oh…	x_refsource_MISC
https://github.com/netty/netty-incubator-codec-oh…	x_refsource_MISC

Impacted products

2 products

Vendor	Product	Version
netty	netty-incubator-codec-ohttp	Affected: < 0.0.23.Final
io.netty.incubator	netty-incubator-codec-ohttp	Affected: < 0.0.23.Final

Show details on NVD website

JSON

To clipboard

{
  "containers": {
    "adp": [
      {
        "metrics": [
          {
            "other": {
              "content": {
                "id": "CVE-2026-54251",
                "options": [
                  {
                    "Exploitation": "none"
                  },
                  {
                    "Automatable": "yes"
                  },
                  {
                    "Technical Impact": "partial"
                  }
                ],
                "role": "CISA Coordinator",
                "timestamp": "2026-09-15T17:36:39.782856Z",
                "version": "2.0.3"
              },
              "type": "ssvc"
            }
          }
        ],
        "providerMetadata": {
          "dateUpdated": "2026-09-15T17:36:46.308Z",
          "orgId": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0",
          "shortName": "CISA-ADP"
        },
        "title": "CISA ADP Vulnrichment"
      }
    ],
    "cna": {
      "affected": [
        {
          "product": "netty-incubator-codec-ohttp",
          "vendor": "netty",
          "versions": [
            {
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "\u003c 0.0.23.Final"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "product": "netty-incubator-codec-ohttp",
          "vendor": "io.netty.incubator",
          "versions": [
            {
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "\u003c 0.0.23.Final"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "descriptions": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "netty-incubator-codec-ohttp implements Oblivious HTTP (OHTTP) gateway and client functionality using Netty. Prior to 0.0.23.Final, the OHTTP gateway decryption path in codec-ohttp/src/main/java/io/netty/incubator/codec/ohttp/OHttpRequestResponseContext.java allocates a pooled direct ByteBuf for decrypted plaintext before the AEAD tag is verified. When an invalid tag causes decryptChunk() to throw CryptoException, OHttpRequestResponseContext.decodeChunk() does not release the ByteBuf because the allocation is not guarded by try/finally. Repeated invalid encrypted requests can therefore leak native off-heap memory until the gateway is unable to continue serving requests. This issue is fixed in version 0.0.23.Final."
        }
      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "cvssV4_0": {
            "attackComplexity": "LOW",
            "attackRequirements": "NONE",
            "attackVector": "NETWORK",
            "baseScore": 8.7,
            "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
            "privilegesRequired": "NONE",
            "subAvailabilityImpact": "NONE",
            "subConfidentialityImpact": "NONE",
            "subIntegrityImpact": "NONE",
            "userInteraction": "NONE",
            "vectorString": "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N",
            "version": "4.0",
            "vulnAvailabilityImpact": "HIGH",
            "vulnConfidentialityImpact": "NONE",
            "vulnIntegrityImpact": "NONE"
          }
        }
      ],
      "problemTypes": [
        {
          "descriptions": [
            {
              "cweId": "CWE-664",
              "description": "CWE-664: Improper Control of a Resource Through its Lifetime",
              "lang": "en",
              "type": "CWE"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "providerMetadata": {
        "dateUpdated": "2026-09-15T17:13:13.674Z",
        "orgId": "a0819718-46f1-4df5-94e2-005712e83aaa",
        "shortName": "GitHub_M"
      },
      "references": [
        {
          "name": "https://github.com/netty/netty-incubator-codec-ohttp/security/advisories/GHSA-vmr9-j6wf-pmh2",
          "tags": [
            "x_refsource_CONFIRM"
          ],
          "url": "https://github.com/netty/netty-incubator-codec-ohttp/security/advisories/GHSA-vmr9-j6wf-pmh2"
        },
        {
          "name": "https://github.com/netty/netty-incubator-codec-ohttp/commit/ba6871bcbd6b3606872d2a81fabc73b284418bf8",
          "tags": [
            "x_refsource_MISC"
          ],
          "url": "https://github.com/netty/netty-incubator-codec-ohttp/commit/ba6871bcbd6b3606872d2a81fabc73b284418bf8"
        },
        {
          "name": "https://github.com/netty/netty-incubator-codec-ohttp/releases/tag/netty-incubator-codec-parent-ohttp-0.0.23.Final",
          "tags": [
            "x_refsource_MISC"
          ],
          "url": "https://github.com/netty/netty-incubator-codec-ohttp/releases/tag/netty-incubator-codec-parent-ohttp-0.0.23.Final"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "advisory": "GHSA-vmr9-j6wf-pmh2",
        "discovery": "UNKNOWN"
      },
      "title": "netty-incubator-codec-ohttp: [OHttpServerCodec] Native Direct-Memory Leak on AEAD Decryption Failure Leads to Gateway Denial of Service"
    }
  },
  "cveMetadata": {
    "assignerOrgId": "a0819718-46f1-4df5-94e2-005712e83aaa",
    "assignerShortName": "GitHub_M",
    "cveId": "CVE-2026-54251",
    "datePublished": "2026-09-15T17:13:13.674Z",
    "dateReserved": "2026-06-12T16:25:43.085Z",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-09-15T17:36:46.308Z",
    "state": "PUBLISHED"
  },
  "dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
  "dataVersion": "5.2"
}

Sightings

Author	Source	Type	Date	Other

Nomenclature

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Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.

The MITRE ATT&CK techniques below are AI-generated suggestions, inferred from the description of the vulnerability by the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-classification-roberta-base model, served locally by ML-Gateway. They have not been verified by an analyst and are provided for guidance only.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.
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GHSA-VMR9-J6WF-PMH2

CVE-2026-54251 (GCVE-0-2026-54251)

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