CVE-2026-54251: netty-incubator-codec-ohttp Denial of Service Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-vmr9-j6wf-pmh2
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CWE-664
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-54251 is a HIGH denial of service vulnerability (CWE-664: Improper Control of a Resource Through its Lifetime) affecting netty-incubator-codec-ohttp libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves [ohttpservercodec] native direct-memory leak on aead decryption failure leads to gateway denial of service. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.0.23.Final.

CVE-2026-54251 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-54251
GHSA Identifier GHSA-vmr9-j6wf-pmh2
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-664: Improper Control of a Resource Through its Lifetime
Affected Product netty-incubator-codec-ohttp
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2026-54251

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

io.netty.incubator:netty-incubator-codec-ohttp fixed: 0.0.23.Final 
<dependency>
    <groupId>io.netty.incubator</groupId>
    <artifactId>netty-incubator-codec-ohttp</artifactId>
    <version>0.0.23.Final</version>
</dependency>
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 -Dincludes=io.netty.incubator

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2026-54251, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=io.netty.incubator

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of netty-incubator-codec-ohttp in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.0.23.Final), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=io.netty.incubator 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-664: Improper Control of a Resource Through its Lifetime, where the product does not maintain or incorrectly maintains control over a resource throughout its lifetime of creation, use, and release. In netty-incubator-codec-ohttp, 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

The **netty-incubator-codec-ohttp** library implements Oblivious HTTP (OHTTP) gateway and client functionality using Netty's `ByteBuf` memory management. When an OHTTP gateway processes encrypted client requests, it allocates a pooled direct (native off-heap) `ByteBuf` to hold the decrypted plaintext before the AEAD tag is verified. If the AEAD tag check fails — meaning the ciphertext is invalid — the decryption method throws a `CryptoException`, but the allocated buffer is never released because no `try/finally` block guards the allocation.

CVE-2026-54251 Affected netty-incubator-codec-ohttp Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.0.23.Final
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
io.netty.incubator:netty-incubator-codec-ohttp
maven/io.netty.incubator/netty-incubator-codec-ohttp
Maven
< 0.0.23.Final
0.0.23.Final

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/netty/netty-incubator-codec-ohttp/security/advisories/GHSA-vmr9-j6wf-pmh2
netty-incubator-codec-ohttp Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/netty/netty-incubator-codec-ohttp
netty-incubator-codec-ohttp Release RELEASE
https://github.com/netty/netty-incubator-codec-ohttp/releases/tag/netty-incubator-codec-parent-ohttp-0.0.23.Final

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-54251?
CVE-2026-54251 is a security vulnerability in netty-incubator-codec-ohttp involving [OHttpServerCodec] Native Direct-Memory Leak on AEAD Decryption Failure Leads to Gateway Denial of Service under CWE-664: Improper Control of a Resource Through its Lifetime.
Which netty-incubator-codec-ohttp versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.0.23.Final across affected packages: io.netty.incubator:netty-incubator-codec-ohttp.
What version fixes CVE-2026-54251?
Upgrading to 0.0.23.Final (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is netty-incubator-codec-ohttp affected?
Yes, io.netty.incubator:netty-incubator-codec-ohttp is affected in releases prior to 0.0.23.Final. Upgrade your dependency to 0.0.23.Final or later.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-54251?
CVE-2026-54251 is classified under CWE-664: Improper Control of a Resource Through its Lifetime (The product does not maintain or incorrectly maintains control over a resource throughout its lifetime of creation, use, and release.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2026-54251?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=io.netty.incubator'. 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-vmr9-j6wf-pmh2",
  "modified" : "2026-08-20T18:39:50Z",
  "published" : "2026-08-20T18:39:50Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-54251" ],
  "summary" : "netty-incubator-codec-ohttp: [OHttpServerCodec] Native Direct-Memory Leak on AEAD Decryption Failure Leads to Gateway Denial of Service",
  "details" : "The **netty-incubator-codec-ohttp** library implements Oblivious HTTP (OHTTP) gateway and client functionality using Netty's `ByteBuf` memory management. When an OHTTP gateway processes encrypted client requests, it allocates a pooled direct (native off-heap) `ByteBuf` to hold the decrypted plaintext before the AEAD tag is verified. If the AEAD tag check fails — meaning the ciphertext is invalid — the decryption method throws a `CryptoException`, but the allocated buffer is never released because no `try/finally` block guards the allocation.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "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"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "io.netty.incubator:netty-incubator-codec-ohttp"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.0.23.Final"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/netty/netty-incubator-codec-ohttp/security/advisories/GHSA-vmr9-j6wf-pmh2"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/netty/netty-incubator-codec-ohttp"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/netty/netty-incubator-codec-ohttp/releases/tag/netty-incubator-codec-parent-ohttp-0.0.23.Final"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-664" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-08-20T18:39:50Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}