CVE-2026-44294: Protobufjs Denial of Service Vulnerability
MODERATECVE-2026-44294 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.3) denial of service vulnerability (CWE-20: Improper Input Validation) affecting Protobufjs libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves denial of service from crafted field names in generated code. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 7.5.6, 8.0.2.
CVE-2026-44294 at a Glance
Security Impact
CVSS: 5.3
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:L).
How to Fix CVE-2026-44294
To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Protobufjs dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.
npm install protobufjs@7.5.6npm install protobufjs@8.0.2Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:
npm ls protobufjsHow to Check if You Are Affected
To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2026-44294, inspect your project dependencies using npm:
npm ls protobufjsAnalyze the terminal output to locate any version of Protobufjs in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 7.5.6), your application is affected.
Note: The npm ls protobufjs 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-20: Improper Input Validation, where the product receives input or data, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input has the properties that are required to process the data safely and correctly. In Protobufjs, 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
CVE-2026-44294 Affected Protobufjs Versions
2 component(s)| Product / Package | Ecosystem | Affected Versions | Fixed Version |
|---|---|---|---|
|
protobufjs
|
npm |
< 7.5.6
|
7.5.6
|
|
protobufjs
|
npm |
≥ 8.0.0
< 8.0.2
|
8.0.2
|
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2026-44294?
Which Protobufjs versions are affected?
What version fixes CVE-2026-44294?
Is protobufjs affected?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-44294?
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-44294?
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2026-44294?
Machine-readable OSV JSON
OSV v1.5 Schema
{
"schema_version" : "1.4.0",
"id" : "GHSA-2pr8-phx7-x9h3",
"modified" : "2026-05-14T20:35:22Z",
"published" : "2026-05-12T15:06:17Z",
"aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-44294" ],
"summary" : "protobuf.js: Denial of service from crafted field names in generated code",
"details" : "## Summary\n\nprotobufjs generated JavaScript property accessors from schema-controlled field and oneof names. Certain control characters in field names were not escaped before being embedded into generated function bodies. A crafted schema or JSON descriptor could therefore cause generated encode, decode, verify, or conversion functions to fail during compilation.\n\n## Impact\n\nAn attacker who can provide or influence a protobuf schema or JSON descriptor may be able to make affected message types unusable by causing protobufjs runtime code generation to throw a syntax error.\n\nThis is a denial of service issue for applications that load untrusted schemas or descriptors. Applications that only use trusted, application-defined schemas are not directly affected by this issue.\n\nThe issue is not known to allow code execution by itself.\n\n## Preconditions\n\n- The application must allow an attacker to control or influence a protobuf schema or JSON descriptor.\n- The crafted input must define a field name containing control characters that reach generated JavaScript property access.\n- The application must perform an operation that triggers protobufjs code generation for the affected type, such as encode, decode, verify, `fromObject`, or `toObject`.\n\n## Workarounds\n\nDo not load protobuf schemas or JSON descriptors from untrusted sources with affected versions. If untrusted schemas must be accepted, validate field names before loading them and reject names containing control characters.",
"severity" : [ {
"type" : "CVSS_V3",
"score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L"
} ],
"affected" : [ {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "npm",
"name" : "protobufjs"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "0"
}, {
"fixed" : "7.5.6"
} ]
} ],
"database_specific" : {
"last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 7.5.5"
}
}, {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "npm",
"name" : "protobufjs"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "8.0.0"
}, {
"fixed" : "8.0.2"
} ]
} ],
"database_specific" : {
"last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 8.0.1"
}
} ],
"references" : [ {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/protobufjs/protobuf.js/security/advisories/GHSA-2pr8-phx7-x9h3"
}, {
"type" : "ADVISORY",
"url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-44294"
}, {
"type" : "PACKAGE",
"url" : "https://github.com/protobufjs/protobuf.js"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/protobufjs/protobuf.js/releases/tag/protobufjs-v7.5.6"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/protobufjs/protobuf.js/releases/tag/protobufjs-v8.0.2"
} ],
"database_specific" : {
"cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-20" ],
"severity" : "MODERATE",
"github_reviewed" : true,
"github_reviewed_at" : "2026-05-12T15:06:17Z",
"nvd_published_at" : "2026-05-13T16:16:56Z"
}
}