CVE-2026-54465: websocket-driver Memory Exhaustion Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-8j3g-f24p-4mpw
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CWE-400 CWE-770
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-54465 is a MODERATE memory exhaustion vulnerability (CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) affecting websocket-driver libraries in the RubyGems ecosystem. The issue involves memory exhaustion in http header parser. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.8.1.

CVE-2026-54465 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-54465
GHSA Identifier GHSA-8j3g-f24p-4mpw
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
Affected Product websocket-driver
Package Ecosystem RubyGems
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2026-54465

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

websocket-driver fixed: 0.8.1 
Upgrade websocket-driver to 0.8.1
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

inspect dependencies for websocket-driver

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2026-54465, inspect your project dependencies for websocket-driver:

inspect dependencies for websocket-driver

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of websocket-driver in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.8.1), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption, where the product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource. In websocket-driver, 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

### Impact If this library is used to implement a WebSocket server on top of a TCP server (rather than an HTTP server or framework) using the `WebSocket::Driver.server()` method, or, if it is used to complement a WebSocket client, then a peer can make a single connection consume an unbounded amount of memory by sending an HTTP request or response with a never-ending list of headers. This can lead to the receiving process running out of memory. ### Patches The issue has been patched in version 0.8.1, by limiting the total size of HTTP request/response lines and headers accepted by the parser to 32 kB. All users should upgrade to this version. ### Workarounds No known workarounds exist. ### Acknowledgements This issue was discovered and reported by Pranjali Thakur, DepthFirst Security Research Team.

CVE-2026-54465 Affected websocket-driver Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.8.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
websocket-driver
gem/websocket-driver
RubyGems
< 0.8.1
0.8.1

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/faye/websocket-driver-ruby/security/advisories/GHSA-8j3g-f24p-4mpw
NVD — CVE-2026-54465 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-54465
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/faye/websocket-driver-ruby/commit/17b569f232896e71d458404ccf4854f80e987710
websocket-driver Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/faye/websocket-driver-ruby
websocket-driver Release RELEASE
https://github.com/faye/websocket-driver-ruby/releases/tag/0.8.1
websocket-driver Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/websocket-driver/CVE-2026-54465.yml
CVE Official Record — CVE-2026-54465 CVE
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord/SearchResults?query=CVE-2026-54465

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-54465?
CVE-2026-54465 is a security vulnerability in websocket-driver involving Memory exhaustion in HTTP header parser under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption.
Which websocket-driver versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.8.1 across affected packages: websocket-driver.
What version fixes CVE-2026-54465?
Upgrading to 0.8.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is websocket-driver affected?
Yes, websocket-driver is affected in releases prior to 0.8.1. Upgrade your dependency to 0.8.1 or later.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-54465?
CVE-2026-54465 is classified under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption (The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.).
How can I check RubyGems dependencies for CVE-2026-54465?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for websocket-driver'. 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-8j3g-f24p-4mpw",
  "modified" : "2026-08-17T16:15:30Z",
  "published" : "2026-07-15T22:05:39Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-54465" ],
  "summary" : "websocket-driver: Memory exhaustion in HTTP header parser",
  "details" : "### Impact\n\nIf this library is used to implement a WebSocket server on top of a TCP server (rather than an HTTP server or framework) using the `WebSocket::Driver.server()` method, or, if it is used to complement a WebSocket client, then a peer can make a single connection consume an unbounded amount of memory by sending an HTTP request or response with a never-ending list of headers. This can lead to the receiving process running out of memory.\n\n### Patches\n\nThe issue has been patched in version 0.8.1, by limiting the total size of HTTP request/response lines and headers accepted by the parser to 32 kB. All users should upgrade to this version.\n\n### Workarounds\n\nNo known workarounds exist.\n\n### Acknowledgements\n\nThis issue was discovered and reported by Pranjali Thakur, DepthFirst Security Research Team.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:L"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "RubyGems",
      "name" : "websocket-driver"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.8.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/faye/websocket-driver-ruby/security/advisories/GHSA-8j3g-f24p-4mpw"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-54465"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/faye/websocket-driver-ruby/commit/17b569f232896e71d458404ccf4854f80e987710"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/faye/websocket-driver-ruby"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/faye/websocket-driver-ruby/releases/tag/0.8.1"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/websocket-driver/CVE-2026-54465.yml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.cve.org/CVERecord/SearchResults?query=CVE-2026-54465"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-400", "CWE-770" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-07-15T22:05:39Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-07-17T20:17:26Z"
  }
}