CVSS 3.0
5.9 mediumCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HCVE-2026-123868 Node.js is vulnerable to an HTTP/2 memory exhaustion denial of service via unaccounted inbound DATA on an undrained stream
Medium (5.9) in nodejs node. EPSS 0.4% estimated probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days.
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An unauthenticated HTTP/2 client can exhaust Node.js server memory because inbound DATA queued on an undrained stream is charged to no session budget. Each inbound DATA frame creates one JavaScript Buffer view in the receiving stream's readable queue, but nothing charges that queue to current_session_memory_: the socket read buffer is accounted only during parsing and released immediately, so whatever stays queued is accounted to nothing. A peer that fills a stream's receive window with one-byte DATA frames pays about 10 wire bytes per frame while the server retains about 114 bytes per frame, so a single stream on one connection can retain hundreds of megabytes from tens of megabytes sent. maxSessionMemory neither bounds the growth nor refuses new streams, because Http2Session::CanAddStream gates admission on the same counter that never sees the queue. This vulnerability affects Node.js 26.x and 24.x.
Severity
- EPSS
- 0.4% estimated probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; 36th percentile. Scored 2026-11-13. A forecast for this CVE across the internet, not for your own systems.
- CWE
- CWE-400 Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
- Published
- Modified
- Assigned by
- openjs (CNA)
- NVD analysis
- Awaiting analysis
- Record from
- the NVD, synced
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Affected
Versions
From the CNA's record in the CVE List.
| Product | Affected |
|---|---|
| nodejs node | from 24.0.0 before 24.22.3 |
| nodejs node | from 25.0.0 before 26.13.1 |
Fix and patched versions
- Red Hat, Alpine, Alpaquita, BellSoft Hardened Containers: fixed package versions per release
Linux distributions
| Distribution | Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debian | 12, 13, 14 | nodejs | no fix listed | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-123868 |
| Ubuntu | 24.04:LTS, 26.04:LTS, 26.10 and 5 more | nodejs | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-123868 |
| Red Hat | hummingbird:1 | nodejs22, nodejs22-bin, nodejs22-docs and 4 more | 1:22.23.4-2.3.2.3.1.hum1 | RHSA-2026:93603 |
| Red Hat | hummingbird:1 | nodejs22-npm | 1:10.9.9-1.22.23.4.2.3.2.3.1.hum1 | RHSA-2026:93603 |
| Red Hat | hummingbird:1 | nodejs24, nodejs24-bin, nodejs24-docs and 3 more | 1:24.22.3-0.1.hum1 | RHSA-2026:99435 |
| Red Hat | hummingbird:1 | nodejs24-npm | 2:11.19.1-1.24.22.3.0.1.hum1 | RHSA-2026:99435 |
| Red Hat | hummingbird:1 | nodejs24-npm-bin | 2:24.22.3-0.1.hum1 | RHSA-2026:99435 |
| Red Hat | hummingbird:1 | nodejs26, nodejs26-bin, nodejs26-docs and 4 more | 1:26.13.1-0.1.hum1 | RHSA-2026:99436 |
| Red Hat | hummingbird:1 | nodejs26-npm | 1:11.20.0-1.26.13.1.0.1.hum1 | RHSA-2026:99436 |
| Red Hat | hummingbird:1 | v8-12.4-devel | 3:12.4.254.21-1.22.23.4.2.3.2.3.1.hum1 | RHSA-2026:93603 |
| Alpine | v3.21, v3.22 | nodejs | 22.23.5-r0 | ALPINE-CVE-2026-123868 |
| Alpine | v3.23, v3.24 | nodejs | 24.22.3-r0 | ALPINE-CVE-2026-123868 |
| Alpine | v3.24 | nodejs-current | 26.13.1-r0 | ALPINE-CVE-2026-123868 |
| Alpaquita | stream | nodejs22 | 22.23.5-r0 | BELL-CVE-2026-123868 |
| Alpaquita | stream | nodejs24 | 24.22.3-r0 | BELL-CVE-2026-123868 |
| Alpaquita | stream | nodejs26 | 26.13.1-r0 | BELL-CVE-2026-123868 |
| BellSoft Hardened Containers | stream | nodejs22 | 22.23.5-r0 | BELL-CVE-2026-123868 |
| BellSoft Hardened Containers | stream | nodejs24 | 24.22.3-r0 | BELL-CVE-2026-123868 |
| BellSoft Hardened Containers | stream | nodejs26 | 26.13.1-r0 | BELL-CVE-2026-123868 |
From the distributions' data via OSV.dev: the Debian Security Tracker; Ubuntu Security Notices © Canonical Ltd., CC BY-SA 4.0; Red Hat Security Data © Red Hat, Inc., CC BY 4.0; the Alpine secdb, CC BY-SA 4.0; BellSoft's OSV database, MIT. Modified: reformatted and linked to CVE records. Credits. On the distributions' own pages: Debian · Ubuntu · Red Hat · Alpine · Alpaquita · BellSoft Hardened Containers.
Red Hat
Red Hat rates this Moderate.
Red Hat has rated this vulnerability as Moderate severity because, although an unauthenticated remote attacker can trigger a denial of service, the flaw does not compromise data confidentiality or host integrity. Exploitation requires applications to explicitly implement Node.js native HTTP/2 server capabilities to receive untrusted traffic. In standard enterprise deployments, Node.js services are typically fronted by reverse proxies or ingress gateways, or utilize standard HTTP/1.1, which significantly reduces the likelihood of direct remote exposure.
Terminate HTTP/2 at a reverse proxy and limit request body size and concurrent streams (see CME-114). Restrict Node.js HTTP/2 listeners to trusted networks (see CME-202).
| Product | Package | State | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Hardened Images | nodejs22-main-10.9.9-1.22.23.4.2.3.2.3.1.hum1 | Fixed 2026-11-02 | RHSA-2026:93603 |
| Red Hat Hardened Images | nodejs22-main-22.23.4-2.3.2.3.1.hum1 | Fixed 2026-11-02 | RHSA-2026:93603 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | nodejs22 | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | nodejs24 | Fix deferred | |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | nodejs26 | Fix deferred | |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | nodejs:22/nodejs | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | nodejs:24/nodejs | Fix deferred | |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | nodejs:22/nodejs | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | nodejs:24/nodejs | Fix deferred | |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | nodejs:26/nodejs | Fix deferred | |
| Red Hat Hardened Images | hi/nodejs | Under investigation | |
| Red Hat Hardened Images | nodejs20 | Will not fix | |
| Red Hat Hardened Images | nodejs24 | Affected | |
| Red Hat Hardened Images | nodejs25 | Will not fix | |
| Red Hat Hardened Images | nodejs26 | Affected | |
| Red Hat Hardened Images | npm12 | Under investigation |
Contains Red Hat Security Data © Red Hat, Inc., licensed under CC BY 4.0. Source: https://access.redhat.com/security/data. Modified: reformatted. Red Hat's page for CVE-2026-123868.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
- CAPEC-147 XML Ping of the Death Likelihood: Low · Severity: Medium
- CAPEC-227 Sustained Client Engagement
- CAPEC-492 Regular Expression Exponential Blowup
The attack patterns MITRE's CAPEC relates to this record's weaknesses, as MITRE names them. Credits.