CVE-2026-54466: websocket-driver Message Corruption Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-xv26-6w52-cph6
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CWE-130
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-54466 is a CRITICAL message corruption vulnerability (CWE-130: Improper Handling of Length Parameter Inconsistency) affecting websocket-driver libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves message corruption via abuse of protocol length headers. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.7.5.

CVE-2026-54466 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-54466
GHSA Identifier GHSA-xv26-6w52-cph6
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-130: Improper Handling of Length Parameter Inconsistency
Affected Product websocket-driver
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2026-54466

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: 0.7.5 
npm install websocket-driver@0.7.5
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

npm ls websocket-driver

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2026-54466, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls 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 0.7.5), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls websocket-driver command inspects dependencies declared in your package.json and lockfile; it does not perform automated runtime dynamic scanning.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-130: Improper Handling of Length Parameter Inconsistency, where the product parses a formatted message or structure, but it does not handle or incorrectly handles a length field that is inconsistent with the actual length of the associated data. 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 client can make the server parse these bytes into an ever-growing integer. Since JavaScript numbers are 64-bit floating point values, this number will eventually lose precision and lead to the subsequent payload being parsed incorrectly. ### Patches The issue has been patched in version 0.7.5 by rejecting the message if the length header exceeds the configured maximum message length. 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-2026-54466 Affected websocket-driver Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.7.5
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
websocket-driver
npm/websocket-driver
npm
< 0.7.5
0.7.5

References

websocket-driver Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/faye/websocket-driver-node
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/faye/websocket-driver-node/security/advisories/GHSA-xv26-6w52-cph6
websocket-driver Release RELEASE
https://github.com/faye/websocket-driver-node/releases/tag/0.7.5

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-54466?
CVE-2026-54466 is a security vulnerability in websocket-driver involving Message corruption via abuse of protocol length headers under CWE-130: Improper Handling of Length Parameter Inconsistency.
Which websocket-driver versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.7.5 across affected packages: websocket-driver.
What version fixes CVE-2026-54466?
Upgrading to 0.7.5 (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 0.7.5. Upgrade your dependency to 0.7.5 or later.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-54466?
CVE-2026-54466 is classified under CWE-130: Improper Handling of Length Parameter Inconsistency (The product parses a formatted message or structure, but it does not handle or incorrectly handles a length field that is inconsistent with the actual length of the associated data.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2026-54466?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls 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-xv26-6w52-cph6",
  "modified" : "2026-07-15T22:07:24Z",
  "published" : "2026-07-15T22:07:24Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-54466" ],
  "summary" : "websocket-driver: Message corruption 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 client can make the server parse these bytes into an ever-growing integer. Since JavaScript numbers are 64-bit floating point values, this number will eventually lose precision and lead to the subsequent payload being parsed incorrectly.\n\n### Patches\n\nThe issue has been patched in version 0.7.5 by rejecting the message if the length header exceeds the configured maximum message length. 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:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:H/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "websocket-driver"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.7.5"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/faye/websocket-driver-node/security/advisories/GHSA-xv26-6w52-cph6"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/faye/websocket-driver-node"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/faye/websocket-driver-node/releases/tag/0.7.5"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-130" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-07-15T22:07:24Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}