CVE-2026-81928: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-x88w-xx7m-3m5f
Share
CVSS 7.5
CWE-674
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-81928 is a HIGH (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-2026-81928 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-81928
GHSA Identifier GHSA-x88w-xx7m-3m5f
Severity HIGH
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-2026-81928

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-2026-81928, 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

Net::DNS versions before 1.57 for Perl allow memory exhaustion via unbounded recursion in sig_data when re-encoding a message with a misplaced TSIG record. sig_data signs a message by re-encoding it, and removes TSIG records only from the additional section. A TSIG decoded into the answer or authority section survives that step and is signed again, so encoding re-enters sig_data with no termination condition. Decoding does not reject such a message: a TSIG that is not the last record on the wire raises "misplaced or corrupt TSIG", but the error is caught, reported as a warning, and the record is left in the packet. RFC 8945 section 5.2 requires the message to be dropped. The recursion is reached only when the decoded TSIG carries an empty MAC, since a MAC recovered from the wire short-circuits the signing step. It is reached only from code that re-encodes a message it decoded, such as a forwarder or a proxy. A decoded message that is never re-encoded is unaffected. Message direction does not matter: a query reaches the same path as a response. Each cycle re-encodes the whole message, so fewer than 100 bytes on the wire exhaust available memory and terminate the process.

References

NVD — CVE-2026-81928 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-81928
datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc8945 WEB
https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc8945#section-5.2
metacpan.org/release/nlnetlabs/n... WEB
https://metacpan.org/release/NLNETLABS/Net-DNS-1.56/source/lib/Net/DNS/RR/TSIG.pm#L245-262
metacpan.org/release/nlnetlabs/n... WEB
https://metacpan.org/release/NLNETLABS/Net-DNS-1.56/source/lib/Net/DNS/RR/TSIG.pm#L62-73
metacpan.org/release/nlnetlabs/n... WEB
https://metacpan.org/release/NLNETLABS/Net-DNS-1.57/changes
rt.cpan.org/ticket/display.html WEB
https://rt.cpan.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=181125
Software Security Information SECURITY
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/09/02/1

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-81928?
CVE-2026-81928 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-2026-81928?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-81928?
CVE-2026-81928 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) 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-2026-81928?
CVE-2026-81928 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-2026-81928?
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-x88w-xx7m-3m5f",
  "modified" : "2026-09-02T21:32:02Z",
  "published" : "2026-09-02T00:31:31Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-81928" ],
  "details" : "Net::DNS versions before 1.57 for Perl allow memory exhaustion via unbounded recursion in sig_data when re-encoding a message with a misplaced TSIG record.\n\nsig_data signs a message by re-encoding it, and removes TSIG records only from the additional section. A TSIG decoded into the answer or authority section survives that step and is signed again, so encoding re-enters sig_data with no termination condition. Decoding does not reject such a message: a TSIG that is not the last record on the wire raises \"misplaced or corrupt TSIG\", but the error is caught, reported as a warning, and the record is left in the packet. RFC 8945 section 5.2 requires the message to be dropped.\n\nThe recursion is reached only when the decoded TSIG carries an empty MAC, since a MAC recovered from the wire short-circuits the signing step. It is reached only from code that re-encodes a message it decoded, such as a forwarder or a proxy. A decoded message that is never re-encoded is unaffected. Message direction does not matter: a query reaches the same path as a response.\n\nEach cycle re-encodes the whole message, so fewer than 100 bytes on the wire exhaust available memory and terminate the process.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-81928"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc8945#section-5.2"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://metacpan.org/release/NLNETLABS/Net-DNS-1.56/source/lib/Net/DNS/RR/TSIG.pm#L245-262"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://metacpan.org/release/NLNETLABS/Net-DNS-1.56/source/lib/Net/DNS/RR/TSIG.pm#L62-73"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://metacpan.org/release/NLNETLABS/Net-DNS-1.57/changes"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://rt.cpan.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=181125"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/09/02/1"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-674" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-09-02T00:18:26Z"
  }
}