CVE-2026-48040

Description

The netty incubator codec.bhttp is a java language binary http parser. The library implements Oblivious HTTP (RFC 9458) using BoringSSL's HPKE C library via JNI. When deriving native memory addresses for cryptographic operations versions prior to 0.0.22.Final provide a fallback path for direct ByteBufs that do not expose their memory address through `hasMemoryAddress()`. This fallback occurs when `sun.misc.Unsafe` is unavailable to Netty — for example, when the JVM is started with `-Dio.netty.noUnsafe=true`, when a SecurityManager restricts Unsafe access, or when running on non-HotSpot JVMs. In these configurations, Netty's default `PooledByteBufAllocator` returns `PooledDirectByteBuf` instances for which `hasMemoryAddress()` returns false. Under the enabling JVM configuration, an unauthenticated network attacker can cause the OHTTP gateway to corrupt memory belonging to other concurrent connections and disclose the contents of adjacent pooled direct buffers by triggering cryptographic operations with crafted OHTTP requests. The corruption occurs regardless of whether the AEAD tag verification succeeds, as BoringSSL zeroizes the output buffer on failure. The information disclosure path provides the attacker with the encryption key needed to extract the leaked data. This violates the confidentiality and integrity of all connections sharing the same Netty buffer arena. Version 0.0.22.Final fixes the issue.

CVSS v3.1 Score

9.1

CRITICAL

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0017

Probability of exploitation

0.07%

Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-125 Out-of-bounds Read

CWE-787 Out-of-bounds Write

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
netty	netty-incubator-codec-ohttp	< 0.0.22

References

Advisories & Patches

https://github.com/netty/netty-incubator-codec-ohttp/commit/7ad38d5cc2827af7e067e5c1e1ac37cd4566dad9 https://github.com/netty/netty-incubator-codec-ohttp/security/advisories/GHSA-32hf-8jw3-v4qq

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-48040? +

The netty incubator codec.bhttp is a java language binary http parser. The library implements Oblivious HTTP (RFC 9458) using BoringSSL's HPKE C library via JNI. When deriving native memory addresses for cryptographic operations versions prior to 0.0.22.Final provide a fallback path for direct ByteBufs that do not expose their memory address through `hasMemoryAddress()`. This fallback occurs when `sun.misc.Unsafe` is unavailable to Netty — for example, when the JVM is started with `-Dio.netty.noUnsafe=true`, when a SecurityManager restricts Unsafe access, or when running on non-HotSpot JVMs. In these configurations, Netty's default `PooledByteBufAllocator` returns `PooledDirectByteBuf` instances for which `hasMemoryAddress()` returns false. Under the enabling JVM configuration, an unauthenticated network attacker can cause the OHTTP gateway to corrupt memory belonging to other concurrent connections and disclose the contents of adjacent pooled direct buffers by triggering cryptographic operations with crafted OHTTP requests. The corruption occurs regardless of whether the AEAD tag verification succeeds, as BoringSSL zeroizes the output buffer on failure. The information disclosure path provides the attacker with the encryption key needed to extract the leaked data. This violates the confidentiality and integrity of all connections sharing the same Netty buffer arena. Version 0.0.22.Final fixes the issue. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.1 (CRITICAL).

How severe is CVE-2026-48040? +

CVE-2026-48040 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 9.1 out of 10, rated CRITICAL. This is a critical vulnerability that should be patched immediately. The EPSS score is 0.0017, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.

What products are affected by CVE-2026-48040? +

CVE-2026-48040 affects products from netty, specifically: netty-incubator-codec-ohttp. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-48040? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

Related Vulnerabilities

CVE-2026-29013

libcoap contains out-of-bounds read vulnerabilities in OSCORE Appendix B.2 CBOR unwrap handling where get_byte_inc() in src/oscore/oscore_cbor.c relies solely on assert() …

CVE-2026-3508

An Out-of-bounds Read vulnerability in the IOCTL handler in ASUS System Control Interface allows a local user to cause system …

CVE-2025-48520

An improper input validation vulnerability within the AMD Platform Management Framework (PMF) driver can allow a local attacker to read …

CVE-2026-3894

Out-of-bounds Read vulnerability in RTI Connext Professional (Core Libraries) allows Overread Buffers.This issue affects Connext Professional: from 7.4.0 before 7.7.0, …

CVE-2025-4098

Horner Automation Cscape version 10.0 (10.0.415.2) SP1 is vulnerable to an out-of-bounds read vulnerability that could allow an attacker to …

CVE-2025-49849

An Out-of-bounds Read vulnerability exists within the parsing of PRJ files. The issues result from the lack of proper validation …