Undici DoS via Unbounded PerMessageDeflate Decompression (pre6.24.0/7.0.07.24.0)
CVE-2026-1526 Published on March 12, 2026
undici is vulnerable to Unbounded Memory Consumption in undici WebSocket permessage-deflate Decompression
The undici WebSocket client is vulnerable to a denial-of-service attack via unbounded memory consumption during permessage-deflate decompression. When a WebSocket connection negotiates the permessage-deflate extension, the client decompresses incoming compressed frames without enforcing any limit on the decompressed data size. A malicious WebSocket server can send a small compressed frame (a "decompression bomb") that expands to an extremely large size in memory, causing the Node.js process to exhaust available memory and crash or become unresponsive.
The vulnerability exists in the PerMessageDeflate.decompress() method, which accumulates all decompressed chunks in memory and concatenates them into a single Buffer without checking whether the total size exceeds a safe threshold.
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2026-1526 is exploitable with network access, and does not require authorization privileges or user interaction. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. 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.
Weakness Types
What is a Data Amplification Vulnerability?
The software does not handle or incorrectly handles a compressed input with a very high compression ratio that produces a large output. An example of data amplification is a "decompression bomb," a small ZIP file that can produce a large amount of data when it is decompressed.
CVE-2026-1526 has been classified to as a Data Amplification vulnerability or weakness.
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-2026-1526
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Affected Versions
undici:- Version < 6.24.0; 7.0.0 < 7.24.0 is affected.
- Version 6.24.0: 7.24.0 is unaffected.
Vulnerable Packages
The following package name and versions may be associated with CVE-2026-1526
| Package Manager | Vulnerable Package | Versions | Fixed In |
|---|---|---|---|
| npm | undici | >= 7.0.0, < 7.24.0 | 7.24.0 |
| npm | undici | < 6.24.0 | 6.24.0 |
Exploit Probability
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.