Vert.x OOM & Infinite Loop via EOL Lines (4.5.35/5.2.2)
CVE-2026-118488 Published on November 3, 2026

Heap exhaustion via unbounded simple string or bulk string allocation in Vert.x Redis client
In Eclipse Vert.x versions [4.0.0, 4.5.35] or [5.0.0, 5.2.2], when a malicious server keeps sending bytes on an EOL-terminated line (not length-prefixed, for example a simple string [1]), we'll keep growing the buffer without bounds, eventually leading to an OOM. We need to have a configurable limit for EOL-terminated lines. If a malicious server sends a specially crafted RESP response (for example a bulk string [2] with missing CRLF trailer), the parser enters an infinite loop where it keeps parsing the same buffer and pushing the same response to the caller, which may lead e.g. to an OOM if the consumer just buffers the responses. We must fix the parser to avoid this infinite looping.

NVD

A proof of concept, or POC exists for this vulnerability.

Vulnerability Analysis

CVE-2026-118488 is exploitable with network access, and does not require authorization privileges or user interaction. This vulnerability is consided to have a high level of attack complexity. Public availability of a proof of concept (POC) exploit exists for CVE-2026-118488. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to have no impact on confidentiality and integrity, and a high impact on availability.

Exploitation:
POC
Automatable:
NO
Technical Impact:
PARTIAL
Attack Vector:
NETWORK
Attack Complexity:
HIGH
Privileges Required:
NONE
User Interaction:
NONE
Scope:
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality Impact:
NONE
Integrity Impact:
NONE
Availability Impact:
HIGH

Weakness Type

Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling

The software allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated, in violation of the intended security policy for that actor.


Products Associated with CVE-2026-118488

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Eclipse Vert X

Affected Versions

Eclipse Foundation Eclipse Vert.x:

Exploit Probability

EPSS
0.43%
Percentile
38.04%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) scores estimate the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. The percentile shows you how this score compares to all other vulnerabilities.