CVE-2026-59990: Jawn Uncontrolled Nesting Depth Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-cc4v-rvgp-2pf3
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-770
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-59990 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) uncontrolled nesting depth vulnerability (CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling) affecting Jawn libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves uncontrolled nesting depth in json parser. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.7.0.

CVE-2026-59990 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-59990
GHSA Identifier GHSA-cc4v-rvgp-2pf3
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling
Affected Product Jawn
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-2026-59990

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

org.typelevel:jawn-parser_2.12 fixed: 1.7.0 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.typelevel</groupId>
    <artifactId>jawn-parser_2.12</artifactId>
    <version>1.7.0</version>
</dependency>
org.typelevel:jawn-parser_2.13 fixed: 1.7.0 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.typelevel</groupId>
    <artifactId>jawn-parser_2.13</artifactId>
    <version>1.7.0</version>
</dependency>
org.typelevel:jawn-parser_3 fixed: 1.7.0 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.typelevel</groupId>
    <artifactId>jawn-parser_3</artifactId>
    <version>1.7.0</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=org.typelevel

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2026-59990, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.typelevel

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Jawn in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.7.0), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.typelevel 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-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling, where the product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any intended restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated. In Jawn, 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 Jawn parser before 1.6.1 is vulnerable to a denial of service attack via untrusted input. ### Impact A remote attacker who can submit JSON to any jawn-backed parse method can exhaust JVM heap and trigger `java.lang.OutOfMemoryError`. This is treated by Scala as a fatal error and not typically handled by `scala.util.Try` or `cats.effect.IO`. ### Patches Version `1.6.1` introduces a configurable nesting-depth limit (`Parser#maxDepth`, default `4096`). Inputs deeper than the limit fail with a recoverable `ParseException` instead of exhausting heap. Users who require deeper nesting may override `maxDepth` on a `Parser` subclass. ### Workarounds - Enforce an input size limit small enough that the resulting context stack cannot exhaust heap, (e.g. http4s `EntityLimiter`). - Pre-scan untrusted input and reject documents whose maximum delimiter nesting exceeds a threshold before handing them to jawn.

CVE-2026-59990 Affected Jawn Versions

3 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.7.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.typelevel:jawn-parser_2.12
maven/org.typelevel/jawn-parser_2.12
Maven
< 1.7.0
1.7.0
org.typelevel:jawn-parser_2.13
maven/org.typelevel/jawn-parser_2.13
Maven
< 1.7.0
1.7.0
org.typelevel:jawn-parser_3
maven/org.typelevel/jawn-parser_3
Maven
< 1.7.0
1.7.0

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/typelevel/jawn/security/advisories/GHSA-cc4v-rvgp-2pf3
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/typelevel/jawn/commit/191cb3a44e77f1afab439ee636bf66bdf3c54a04
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/typelevel/jawn/commit/6219666641f9408498f85868f835e17bd8a72fed
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/typelevel/jawn/commit/93ac93e9c992c11b4c03d5455d8551f9fb24da1b
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/typelevel/jawn/commit/f6ace7e0db715de1a8c4618bed9378333a5c2214
Jawn Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/typelevel/jawn
Jawn Release RELEASE
https://github.com/typelevel/jawn/releases/tag/v1.7.0

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-59990?
CVE-2026-59990 is a security vulnerability in Jawn involving Uncontrolled nesting depth in JSON parser under CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling.
Which Jawn versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.7.0 across affected packages: org.typelevel:jawn-parser_2.12, org.typelevel:jawn-parser_2.13, org.typelevel:jawn-parser_3.
What version fixes CVE-2026-59990?
Upgrading to 1.7.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is jawn-parser_2.12 affected?
Yes, org.typelevel:jawn-parser_2.12 is affected in releases prior to 1.7.0. Upgrade your dependency to 1.7.0 or later.
Is jawn-parser_2.13 affected?
Yes, org.typelevel:jawn-parser_2.13 is affected in releases prior to 1.7.0. Upgrade your dependency to 1.7.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-59990?
CVE-2026-59990 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-2026-59990?
CVE-2026-59990 is classified under CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling (The product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any intended restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2026-59990?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.typelevel'. 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-cc4v-rvgp-2pf3",
  "modified" : "2026-09-23T21:23:54Z",
  "published" : "2026-09-23T21:23:54Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-59990" ],
  "summary" : "Jawn: Uncontrolled nesting depth in JSON parser",
  "details" : "The Jawn parser before 1.6.1 is vulnerable to a denial of service attack via untrusted input.\n\n### Impact\n\nA remote attacker who can submit JSON to any jawn-backed parse method can exhaust JVM heap and trigger `java.lang.OutOfMemoryError`.  This is treated by Scala as a fatal error and not typically handled by `scala.util.Try` or `cats.effect.IO`.\n\n### Patches\n\nVersion `1.6.1` introduces a configurable nesting-depth limit (`Parser#maxDepth`, default `4096`).  Inputs deeper than the limit fail with a recoverable `ParseException` instead of exhausting heap.\n\nUsers who require deeper nesting may override `maxDepth` on a `Parser` subclass.\n\n### Workarounds\n\n- Enforce an input size limit small enough that the resulting context stack cannot exhaust heap, (e.g. http4s `EntityLimiter`).\n- Pre-scan untrusted input and reject documents whose maximum delimiter nesting exceeds a threshold before handing them to jawn.",
  "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" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.typelevel:jawn-parser_2.12"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.7.0"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 1.6.0"
    }
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.typelevel:jawn-parser_2.13"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.7.0"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 1.6.0"
    }
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.typelevel:jawn-parser_3"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.7.0"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 1.6.0"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/typelevel/jawn/security/advisories/GHSA-cc4v-rvgp-2pf3"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/typelevel/jawn/commit/191cb3a44e77f1afab439ee636bf66bdf3c54a04"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/typelevel/jawn/commit/6219666641f9408498f85868f835e17bd8a72fed"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/typelevel/jawn/commit/93ac93e9c992c11b4c03d5455d8551f9fb24da1b"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/typelevel/jawn/commit/f6ace7e0db715de1a8c4618bed9378333a5c2214"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/typelevel/jawn"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/typelevel/jawn/releases/tag/v1.7.0"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-770" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-09-23T21:23:54Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}