CVE-2026-68496: DoS (CVSS 7.5)

Description

The Smile parser in FasterXML jackson-dataformats-binary never invokes StreamReadConstraints.validateNameLength() when decoding JSON object property names, so the maxNameLength limit is not enforced for this format. SmileParser._handleLongFieldName() grows its internal name buffer through an unconstrained _growArrayTo() call and performs no length validation. An attacker who can have a Smile document parsed may therefore embed a single property name of unbounded length; the parser buffers the whole name in memory before returning it, whatever maxNameLength is configured to. Because StreamReadConstraints.maxDocumentLength is also disabled by default, nothing else bounds the name under default settings, so the only limits are the attacker's upload capacity and available heap, leading to memory exhaustion and denial of service. No privileges beyond the ability to submit data to a parsing endpoint are required, and exploitation needs only that the bytes reach SmileFactory parsing, directly or through an ObjectMapper configured with the Smile module. jackson-core's own JSON parsers enforce maxNameLength incrementally during name decoding; this gap is specific to the binary formats. maxNameLength and validateNameLength were introduced in jackson-core 2.16.0, so releases before 2.16.0 do not contain the constraint that is left unenforced. This issue is tracked together with the CBOR parser defect in the same vendor advisory, GHSA-3v8f-v6vx-fmrm, which covers both binary formats. The Smile parser defect (jackson-dataformats-binary issue #726) is CVE-2026-68496; the CBOR parser defect (issue #725) is assigned CVE-2026-68495.

Is your site exposed to CVE-2026-68496?

Run a free security scan — no signup, results in seconds.

CVSS v3.1 Score

7.5

HIGH

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

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0067

Probability of exploitation

0.50%

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-400 Uncontrolled Resource Consumption

CWE-770 CWE-770

References

Other References

https://github.com/FasterXML/jackson-dataformats-binary/blob/2.18/release-notes/VERSION-2.x https://github.com/FasterXML/jackson-dataformats-binary/issues/726 https://github.com/FasterXML/jackson-dataformats-binary/security/advisories/GHSA-3v8f-v6vx-fmrm https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-68495 https://github.com/FasterXML/jackson-dataformats-binary/security/advisories/GHSA-3v8f-v6vx-fmrm

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-68496? +

The Smile parser in FasterXML jackson-dataformats-binary never invokes StreamReadConstraints.validateNameLength() when decoding JSON object property names, so the maxNameLength limit is not enforced for this format. SmileParser._handleLongFieldName() grows its internal name buffer through an unconstrained _growArrayTo() call and performs no length validation. An attacker who can have a Smile document parsed may therefore embed a single property name of unbounded length; the parser buffers the whole name in memory before returning it, whatever maxNameLength is configured to. Because StreamReadConstraints.maxDocumentLength is also disabled by default, nothing else bounds the name under default settings, so the only limits are the attacker's upload capacity and available heap, leading to memory exhaustion and denial of service. No privileges beyond the ability to submit data to a parsing endpoint are required, and exploitation needs only that the bytes reach SmileFactory parsing, directly or through an ObjectMapper configured with the Smile module. jackson-core's own JSON parsers enforce maxNameLength incrementally during name decoding; this gap is specific to the binary formats. maxNameLength and validateNameLength were introduced in jackson-core 2.16.0, so releases before 2.16.0 do not contain the constraint that is left unenforced. This issue is tracked together with the CBOR parser defect in the same vendor advisory, GHSA-3v8f-v6vx-fmrm, which covers both binary formats. The Smile parser defect (jackson-dataformats-binary issue #726) is CVE-2026-68496; the CBOR parser defect (issue #725) is assigned CVE-2026-68495. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2026-68496? +

CVE-2026-68496 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.5 out of 10, rated HIGH. This is a high-severity vulnerability that should be prioritized for patching. The EPSS score is 0.0067, placing it in the 1th percentile for exploitation probability.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-68496? +

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-2026-45802

FPDI is a collection of PHP classes that facilitate reading pages from existing PDF documents and using them as templates …

CVE-2026-67318

axios versions >=1.13.0 (Node.js HTTP adapter) fail to enforce the configured maxBodyLength limit on streamed request bodies when requests are …

CVE-2026-42343

FastGPT is an AI Agent building platform. In versions 4.14.13 and prior, the code-sandbox component suffers from insufficient resource isolation …

CVE-2025-41361

Uncontrolled resource consumption vulnerability in IDF v0.10.0-0C03-03 and ZLF v0.10.0-0C03-04. The devices improperly handle TLS requests associated with PROCOME sockets, …

CVE-2025-41360

Uncontrolled resource consumption vulnerability in IDF v0.10.0-0C03-03 and ZLF v0.10.0-0C03-04. The device is vulnerable to a packet flooding denial of …

CVE-2024-5422

An uncontrolled resource consumption of file descriptors in SEH Computertechnik utnserver Pro, SEH Computertechnik utnserver ProMAX, SEH Computertechnik INU-100 allows …

CVE-2026-68496