CVE-2026-50272: dd-trace-js Denial of Service Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-wxqq-gcq8-c443
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-400 CWE-770
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-50272 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) denial of service vulnerability (CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) affecting dd-trace-js libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves improper parsing of w3c baggage headers may lead to dos. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 5.100.0.

CVE-2026-50272 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-50272
GHSA Identifier GHSA-wxqq-gcq8-c443
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
Affected Product dd-trace-js
Package Ecosystem npm
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-2026-50272

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

dd-trace fixed: 5.100.0 
npm install dd-trace@5.100.0
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 dd-trace

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2026-50272, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls dd-trace

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of dd-trace-js in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 5.100.0), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls dd-trace 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-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption, where the product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource. In dd-trace-js, 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 Datadog tracing libraries that implement W3C baggage propagation parse incoming baggage HTTP headers without enforcing item-count or byte-size limits on the extract path. The DD_TRACE_BAGGAGE_MAX_ITEMS (default 64) and DD_TRACE_BAGGAGE_MAX_BYTES (default 8192) limits were applied only to baggage injection, not extraction. A remote, unauthenticated attacker can send a request whose baggage header contains an arbitrarily large number of comma-separated key-value pairs (or a single very large value). The tracer allocates a hash-map entry for each pair on every request, causing unbounded CPU and memory consumption and enabling a remote Denial of Service against any HTTP service that has the baggage propagation style enabled. The baggage propagation style is enabled by default in most affected tracers, so any internet-facing service that has been instrumented with an affected tracer version is exposed unless the propagation style has been explicitly narrowed. ### Patches This is resolved in version 5.100.0 and later of the `dd-trace-js` library. ### Workarounds If users cannot upgrade immediately: 1. Disable `baggage` extraction by removing `baggage` from `DD_TRACE_PROPAGATION_STYLE` (or `DD_TRACE_PROPAGATION_STYLE_EXTRACT` if set independently). 2. Cap the maximum HTTP request header size at an upstream proxy or web server (for example, Apache `LimitRequestFieldSize`, Nginx `large_client_header_buffers`, Envoy `max_request_headers_kb`). ### Resources Related upstream advisories: [opentelemetry-go GHSA-mh2q-q3fh-2475](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go/security/advisories/GHSA-mh2q-q3fh-2475) [opentelemetry-dotnet GHSA-g94r-2vxg-569j](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-dotnet/security/advisories/GHSA-g94r-2vxg-569j)

CVE-2026-50272 Affected dd-trace-js Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
5.100.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
dd-trace
npm/dd-trace
npm
< 5.100.0
5.100.0

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/DataDog/dd-trace-js/security/advisories/GHSA-wxqq-gcq8-c443
dd-trace-js Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/DataDog/dd-trace-js

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-50272?
CVE-2026-50272 is a security vulnerability in dd-trace-js involving Improper parsing of W3C baggage headers may lead to DoS under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption.
Which dd-trace-js versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 5.100.0 across affected packages: dd-trace.
What version fixes CVE-2026-50272?
Upgrading to 5.100.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is dd-trace affected?
Yes, dd-trace is affected in releases prior to 5.100.0. Upgrade your dependency to 5.100.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-50272?
CVE-2026-50272 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-2026-50272?
CVE-2026-50272 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 npm dependencies for CVE-2026-50272?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls dd-trace'. 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-wxqq-gcq8-c443",
  "modified" : "2026-07-15T22:58:52Z",
  "published" : "2026-07-15T22:58:52Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-50272" ],
  "summary" : "dd-trace-js: Improper parsing of W3C baggage headers may lead to DoS",
  "details" : "### Impact\nDatadog tracing libraries that implement W3C baggage propagation parse incoming baggage HTTP headers without enforcing item-count or byte-size limits on the extract path. The DD_TRACE_BAGGAGE_MAX_ITEMS (default 64) and DD_TRACE_BAGGAGE_MAX_BYTES (default 8192) limits were applied only to baggage injection, not extraction. A remote, unauthenticated attacker can send a request whose baggage header contains an arbitrarily large number of comma-separated key-value pairs (or a single very large value). The tracer allocates a hash-map entry for each pair on every request, causing unbounded CPU and memory consumption and enabling a remote Denial of Service against any HTTP service that has the baggage propagation style enabled.\nThe baggage propagation style is enabled by default in most affected tracers, so any internet-facing service that has been instrumented with an affected tracer version is exposed unless the propagation style has been explicitly narrowed.\n\n### Patches\nThis is resolved in version 5.100.0 and later of the `dd-trace-js` library.\n\n### Workarounds\nIf users cannot upgrade immediately:\n1. Disable `baggage` extraction by removing `baggage` from `DD_TRACE_PROPAGATION_STYLE` (or `DD_TRACE_PROPAGATION_STYLE_EXTRACT` if set independently).\n2. Cap the maximum HTTP request header size at an upstream proxy or web server (for example, Apache `LimitRequestFieldSize`, Nginx `large_client_header_buffers`, Envoy `max_request_headers_kb`).\n\n\n### Resources\nRelated upstream advisories:\n[opentelemetry-go GHSA-mh2q-q3fh-2475](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go/security/advisories/GHSA-mh2q-q3fh-2475)\n[opentelemetry-dotnet GHSA-g94r-2vxg-569j](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-dotnet/security/advisories/GHSA-g94r-2vxg-569j)",
  "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" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "dd-trace"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "5.100.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/DataDog/dd-trace-js/security/advisories/GHSA-wxqq-gcq8-c443"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/DataDog/dd-trace-js"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-400", "CWE-770" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-07-15T22:58:52Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}