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PYSEC-2026-3933

Vulnerability from pysec - Published: 2026-09-10 09:45 - Updated: 2026-09-10 11:02
VLAI
Details

Summary

The fix for GHSA-rwxx-mrjm-wc2m ("ReDoS via structured_outputs.regex compiled without timeout") wrapped the regex compile in the xgrammar and outlines backends with compile_regex_with_timeout (and, for outlines, validate_regex_is_buildable). The lm-format-enforcer backend was left unguarded: it compiles the attacker-supplied regex with no timeout and no buildability check. A single request with a catastrophic regex hangs the structured-output compile step and stalls the engine worker (denial of service).

Affected code (HEAD d6d39c1)

vllm/v1/structured_output/backend_lm_format_enforcer.py: - line 110: character_level_parser = lmformatenforcer.RegexParser(grammar_spec) — builds an interegular FSM from the attacker regex synchronously, no timeout. - line 155: validate_structured_output_request_lm_format_enforcer returns immediately on if so_params.regex: — no validation.

Sibling backends that WERE patched by GHSA-rwxx: - backend_xgrammar.py:92 → compile_regex_with_timeout(...). - backend_outlines.py:65 → compile_regex_with_timeout(...) (plus validate_regex_is_buildable).

lm-format-enforcer uses the same interegular DFA-construction primitive the advisory cites for the outlines backend.

Reproduction (runtime-verified against the sink)

The sink lmformatenforcer.RegexParser(<regex>) was exercised directly (this is exactly what the backend calls):

baseline  '[0-9]{3}'          -> 0.0002 s
attacker  '(a{1,300}){300}'   -> DID NOT COMPLETE in 20 s (one core pegged at 100% in interegular FSM construction)

End-to-end: start vllm serve <model> --structured-outputs-config '{"backend":"lm-format-enforcer"}', then POST /v1/completions with {"structured_outputs":{"regex":"(a{1,300}){300}"}, ...}. The request never returns; because grammar compile runs in the engine's structured-output path, concurrent requests stall = worker-level DoS. The identical request against the outlines backend is bounded by compile_regex_with_timeout and returns a clean error.

Impact

Unauthenticated denial of service (vLLM ships with no authentication by default). One request pegs a CPU core and blocks the structured-output engine path.

Reachability precondition: the operator must have selected backend=lm-format-enforcer via --structured-outputs-config (the default is auto → xgrammar). This is the same opt-in tier as the outlines backend that GHSA-rwxx already covered.

Suggested remediation

Route the lm-format-enforcer regex compile (backend_lm_format_enforcer.py:110) through the same compile_regex_with_timeout guard already applied to the xgrammar and outlines backends, and reject un-buildable / oversized patterns in validate_structured_output_request_lm_format_enforcer.

Severity
5.3 (Medium)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
Impacted products
Name purl
vllm pkg:pypi/vllm
Aliases
To clipboard 

{
  "affected": [
    {
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "PyPI",
        "name": "vllm",
        "purl": "pkg:pypi/vllm"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "0.26.0"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ],
      "versions": [
        "0.0.1",
        "0.1.0",
        "0.1.1",
        "0.1.2",
        "0.1.3",
        "0.1.4",
        "0.1.5",
        "0.1.6",
        "0.1.7",
        "0.10.0",
        "0.10.1",
        "0.10.1.1",
        "0.10.2",
        "0.11.0",
        "0.11.1",
        "0.11.2",
        "0.12.0",
        "0.13.0",
        "0.14.0",
        "0.14.1",
        "0.15.0",
        "0.15.1",
        "0.16.0",
        "0.17.0",
        "0.17.1",
        "0.18.0",
        "0.18.1",
        "0.19.0",
        "0.19.1",
        "0.2.0",
        "0.2.1",
        "0.2.1.post1",
        "0.2.2",
        "0.2.3",
        "0.2.4",
        "0.2.5",
        "0.2.6",
        "0.2.7",
        "0.20.0",
        "0.20.1",
        "0.20.2",
        "0.21.0",
        "0.22.0",
        "0.22.1",
        "0.23.0",
        "0.24.0",
        "0.25.0",
        "0.25.1",
        "0.3.0",
        "0.3.1",
        "0.3.2",
        "0.3.3",
        "0.4.0",
        "0.4.0.post1",
        "0.4.1",
        "0.4.2",
        "0.4.3",
        "0.5.0",
        "0.5.0.post1",
        "0.5.1",
        "0.5.2",
        "0.5.3",
        "0.5.3.post1",
        "0.5.4",
        "0.5.5",
        "0.6.0",
        "0.6.1",
        "0.6.1.post1",
        "0.6.1.post2",
        "0.6.2",
        "0.6.3",
        "0.6.3.post1",
        "0.6.4",
        "0.6.4.post1",
        "0.6.5",
        "0.6.6",
        "0.6.6.post1",
        "0.7.0",
        "0.7.1",
        "0.7.2",
        "0.7.3",
        "0.8.0",
        "0.8.1",
        "0.8.2",
        "0.8.3",
        "0.8.4",
        "0.8.5",
        "0.8.5.post1",
        "0.9.0",
        "0.9.0.1",
        "0.9.1",
        "0.9.2"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2026-73556",
    "GHSA-48jh-3gj7-fg8v"
  ],
  "details": "### Summary\n\nThe fix for `GHSA-rwxx-mrjm-wc2m` (\"ReDoS via `structured_outputs.regex` compiled without timeout\") wrapped the regex compile in the **xgrammar** and **outlines** backends with `compile_regex_with_timeout` (and, for outlines, `validate_regex_is_buildable`). The **lm-format-enforcer** backend was left unguarded: it compiles the attacker-supplied regex with no timeout and no buildability check. A single request with a catastrophic regex hangs the structured-output compile step and stalls the engine worker (denial of service).\n\n### Affected code (HEAD d6d39c1)\n\n`vllm/v1/structured_output/backend_lm_format_enforcer.py`:\n- line 110: `character_level_parser = lmformatenforcer.RegexParser(grammar_spec)` \u2014 builds an `interegular` FSM from the attacker regex synchronously, **no timeout**.\n- line 155: `validate_structured_output_request_lm_format_enforcer` returns immediately on `if so_params.regex:` \u2014 **no validation**.\n\nSibling backends that WERE patched by GHSA-rwxx:\n- `backend_xgrammar.py:92` \u2192 `compile_regex_with_timeout(...)`.\n- `backend_outlines.py:65` \u2192 `compile_regex_with_timeout(...)` (plus `validate_regex_is_buildable`).\n\nlm-format-enforcer uses the same `interegular` DFA-construction primitive the advisory cites for the outlines backend.\n\n### Reproduction (runtime-verified against the sink)\n\nThe sink `lmformatenforcer.RegexParser(\u003cregex\u003e)` was exercised directly (this is exactly what the backend calls):\n\n```\nbaseline  \u0027[0-9]{3}\u0027          -\u003e 0.0002 s\nattacker  \u0027(a{1,300}){300}\u0027   -\u003e DID NOT COMPLETE in 20 s (one core pegged at 100% in interegular FSM construction)\n```\n\nEnd-to-end: start `vllm serve \u003cmodel\u003e --structured-outputs-config \u0027{\"backend\":\"lm-format-enforcer\"}\u0027`, then `POST /v1/completions` with `{\"structured_outputs\":{\"regex\":\"(a{1,300}){300}\"}, ...}`. The request never returns; because grammar compile runs in the engine\u0027s structured-output path, concurrent requests stall = worker-level DoS. The identical request against the outlines backend is bounded by `compile_regex_with_timeout` and returns a clean error.\n\n### Impact\n\nUnauthenticated denial of service (vLLM ships with no authentication by default). One request pegs a CPU core and blocks the structured-output engine path.\n\n**Reachability precondition:** the operator must have selected `backend=lm-format-enforcer` via `--structured-outputs-config` (the default is `auto` \u2192 xgrammar). This is the same opt-in tier as the outlines backend that GHSA-rwxx already covered.\n\n### Suggested remediation\n\nRoute the lm-format-enforcer regex compile (`backend_lm_format_enforcer.py:110`) through the same `compile_regex_with_timeout` guard already applied to the xgrammar and outlines backends, and reject un-buildable / oversized patterns in `validate_structured_output_request_lm_format_enforcer`.",
  "id": "PYSEC-2026-3933",
  "modified": "2026-09-10T11:02:35.442026Z",
  "published": "2026-09-10T09:45:00.190897Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm/security/advisories/GHSA-48jh-3gj7-fg8v"
    },
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-73556"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm/pull/47595"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm/commit/c9a788eedc412acceaa5112e0d44624b49841577"
    },
    {
      "type": "PACKAGE",
      "url": "https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm/releases/tag/v0.26.0"
    },
    {
      "type": "PACKAGE",
      "url": "https://pypi.org/project/vllm"
    },
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-48jh-3gj7-fg8v"
    }
  ],
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ],
  "summary": "vLLM: ReDoS via structured_outputs.regex in the lm-format-enforcer backend (no compile timeout) \u2014 missed sibling of GHSA-rwxx-mrjm-wc2m"
}



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