CVE-2026-54463: websocket-driver Memory Exhaustion Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-ghhp-3qvg-889p
Share
CWE-400 CWE-770
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-54463 is a MODERATE memory exhaustion vulnerability (CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) affecting websocket-driver libraries in the RubyGems ecosystem. The issue involves memory exhaustion via abuse of protocol length headers. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.8.1.

CVE-2026-54463 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-54463
GHSA Identifier GHSA-ghhp-3qvg-889p
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-2026-54463

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-2026-54463, 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 The frame format in draft versions of the WebSocket protocol includes a length header that allows an arbitrarily large integer to be encoded as a sequence of bytes with the high bit set. By sending an indefinite sequence of bytes with values `0x80` or above, a server or client can make the other peer parse these bytes into an ever-growing integer. Since Ruby integers are arbitrary precision, this can be used to make a WebSocket connection consume an unbounded amount of memory and lead to the host process running out of memory. ### Patches The issue has been patched in version 0.8.1. 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-2026-54463 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-ghhp-3qvg-889p
NVD — CVE-2026-54463 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-54463
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/faye/websocket-driver-ruby/commit/d0141f041f6e3677a951255d547a313e732ccbe0
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-2026-54463.yml
CVE Official Record — CVE-2026-54463 CVE
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord/SearchResults?query=CVE-2026-54463

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-54463?
CVE-2026-54463 is a security vulnerability in websocket-driver involving Memory exhaustion via abuse of protocol length headers 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-2026-54463?
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-2026-54463?
CVE-2026-54463 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-2026-54463?
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-ghhp-3qvg-889p",
  "modified" : "2026-08-17T16:15:03Z",
  "published" : "2026-07-15T22:01:52Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-54463" ],
  "summary" : "websocket-driver: Memory exhaustion via abuse of protocol length headers",
  "details" : "### Impact\n\nThe frame format in draft versions of the WebSocket protocol includes a length header that allows an arbitrarily large integer to be encoded as a sequence of bytes with the high bit set. By sending an indefinite sequence of bytes with values `0x80` or above, a server or client can make the other peer parse these bytes into an ever-growing integer. Since Ruby integers are arbitrary precision, this can be used to make a WebSocket connection consume an unbounded amount of memory and lead to the host process running out of memory.\n\n### Patches\n\nThe issue has been patched in version 0.8.1. 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:N/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-ghhp-3qvg-889p"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-54463"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/faye/websocket-driver-ruby/commit/d0141f041f6e3677a951255d547a313e732ccbe0"
  }, {
    "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-2026-54463.yml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.cve.org/CVERecord/SearchResults?query=CVE-2026-54463"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-400", "CWE-770" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-07-15T22:01:52Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-07-17T20:17:26Z"
  }
}