CVE-2026-54451

Description

Elixir protobuf is a pure Elixir implementation of Google Protobuf. From 0.8.0 until 0.16.1, services that decode attacker-controlled protobuf bytes with Protobuf.Decoder can be taken offline when the schema contains a self-referential or cyclic message type. In lib/protobuf/decoder.ex, Protobuf.Decoder.value_for_field/3 handles an embedded?: true field by recursively entering the decode / build_message / handle_value / value_for_field call chain without enforcing a nesting-depth limit. Deeply nested embedded fields retain non-tail recursive frames, allowing a comparatively small request to consume substantial CPU and memory, pin a BEAM scheduler, and exhaust the node. This issue is fixed in version 0.16.1.

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Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-674 CWE-674

References

Other References

https://github.com/elixir-protobuf/protobuf/commit/352d1769a0ef575a8d18c3f9620609efdb73e2bc https://github.com/elixir-protobuf/protobuf/commit/b8efa97790eece3d2d0e8e7c31a45ed409fe5338 https://github.com/elixir-protobuf/protobuf/releases/tag/v0.16.1 https://github.com/elixir-protobuf/protobuf/security/advisories/GHSA-rv48-qqj5-crxg

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-54451? +

Elixir protobuf is a pure Elixir implementation of Google Protobuf. From 0.8.0 until 0.16.1, services that decode attacker-controlled protobuf bytes with Protobuf.Decoder can be taken offline when the schema contains a self-referential or cyclic message type. In lib/protobuf/decoder.ex, Protobuf.Decoder.value_for_field/3 handles an embedded?: true field by recursively entering the decode / build_message / handle_value / value_for_field call chain without enforcing a nesting-depth limit. Deeply nested embedded fields retain non-tail recursive frames, allowing a comparatively small request to consume substantial CPU and memory, pin a BEAM scheduler, and exhaust the node. This issue is fixed in version 0.16.1.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-54451? +

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.

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