CVE-2026-15996: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-3x3p-rpwc-h9wf
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-674
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-15996 is a MODERATE (CVSS 7.5) security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-674: Uncontrolled Recursion) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when the product does not properly control the amount of recursion that takes place, consuming excessive resources, such as allocated memory or the program stack.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2026-15996 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-15996
GHSA Identifier GHSA-3x3p-rpwc-h9wf
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-674: Uncontrolled Recursion
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality None (C:N)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2026-15996

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Software dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2026-15996, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Software in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-674: Uncontrolled Recursion, where the product does not properly control the amount of recursion that takes place, consuming excessive resources, such as allocated memory or the program stack. In Software, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

A denial of service vulnerability was identified in GitHub Enterprise Server that allowed an unauthenticated attacker to cause excessive CPU consumption and exhaust the pool of request-handling worker processes by sending a crafted form-encoded HTTP POST request containing deeply nested parameters. Because request parameters were parsed before routing and authentication, any POST endpoint could be used to trigger the condition, which could render the instance unresponsive. This vulnerability affected all versions of GitHub Enterprise Server prior to 3.21 and was fixed in versions 3.20.3, 3.19.7, 3.18.10, and 3.17.16.

References

NVD — CVE-2026-15996 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-15996
Software Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.17/admin/release-notes#3.17.16
Software Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.18/admin/release-notes#3.18.10
Software Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.19/admin/release-notes#3.19.7
Software Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.20/admin/release-notes#3.20.3

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-15996?
CVE-2026-15996 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-674: Uncontrolled Recursion.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2026-15996?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-15996?
CVE-2026-15996 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-15996?
CVE-2026-15996 is classified under CWE-674: Uncontrolled Recursion (The product does not properly control the amount of recursion that takes place, consuming excessive resources, such as allocated memory or the program stack.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2026-15996?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-3x3p-rpwc-h9wf",
  "modified" : "2026-08-18T18:31:47Z",
  "published" : "2026-08-05T21:31:39Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-15996" ],
  "details" : "A denial of service vulnerability was identified in GitHub Enterprise Server that allowed an unauthenticated attacker to cause excessive CPU consumption and exhaust the pool of request-handling worker processes by sending a crafted form-encoded HTTP POST request containing deeply nested parameters. Because request parameters were parsed before routing and authentication, any POST endpoint could be used to trigger the condition, which could render the instance unresponsive. This vulnerability affected all versions of GitHub Enterprise Server prior to 3.21 and was fixed in versions 3.20.3, 3.19.7, 3.18.10, and 3.17.16.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-15996"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.17/admin/release-notes#3.17.16"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.18/admin/release-notes#3.18.10"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.19/admin/release-notes#3.19.7"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.20/admin/release-notes#3.20.3"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-674" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-08-05T21:16:57Z"
  }
}