Uncontrolled Recursion in Akka HTTP
Akka HTTP 10.1.x and 10.2.x before 10.2.7 can encounter stack exhaustion while parsing HTTP headers, which allows a remote attacker to conduct a Denial of Service attack by sending a User-Agent header with deeply nested comments.
Affected software
Click a technology to see all vulnerabilities affecting it.
| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Java / Kotlin (Maven) | com.typesafe.akka:aakka-http-core_2.13.0-M3 | >= 10.1.0 | no fix |
| Java / Kotlin (Maven) | com.typesafe.akka:akka-http-core_2.11 | >= 10.1.0, < 10.1.15 | 10.1.15 |
| Java / Kotlin (Maven) | com.typesafe.akka:akka-http-core_2.12 | >= 10.1.0, < 10.1.15, >= 10.2.0-M1, < 10.2.7 | 10.1.15, 10.2.7 |
| Java / Kotlin (Maven) | com.typesafe.akka:akka-http-core_2.13 | >= 10.1.0, < 10.1.15, >= 10.2.0-M1, < 10.2.7 | 10.1.15, 10.2.7 |
| Java / Kotlin (Maven) | com.typesafe.akka:akka-http-core_2.13.0-M5 | >= 10.1.0 | no fix |
| Java / Kotlin (Maven) | com.typesafe.akka:akka-http-core_2.13.0-RC2 | >= 10.1.0 | no fix |
| Java / Kotlin (Maven) | com.typesafe.akka:akka-http-core_2.13.0-RC3 | >= 10.1.0 | no fix |
References
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-42697
- https://github.com/akka/akka-http/pull/3924
- https://akka.io/blog
- https://akka.io/blog/news/2021/11/02/akka-http-10.2.7-released
- https://akka.io/blog/news/2021/11/22/akka-http-10.1.15-released
- https://doc.akka.io/docs/akka-http/current/security/2021-CVE-2021-42697-stack-overflow-parsing-user-agent.html
- https://github.com/akka/akka-http
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/167018/Akka-HTTP-10.1.14-Denial-Of-Service.html
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-674, CWE-787- Platform
- Java / Kotlin (Maven)
- Package
com.typesafe.akka:aakka-http-core_2.13.0-M3, com.typesafe.akka:akka-http-core_2.11, com.typesafe.akka:akka-http-core_2.12- Disclosed
- 24.05.2022
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 12:22
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-3hw2-h67c-wq66 - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: com.typesafe.akka:akka-http-core_2.11
All published vulnerabilities of this package (Java / Kotlin (Maven)), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
- Total entries
- 4
- First → latest
- 10.2018 10.2023
- Without a fix
- 1
- Exploited in attacks
- 1
Severity breakdown
- High 3
- Medium 1
Disclosures per year
- 2018: 2
- 2019: 0
- 2020: 0
- 2021: 0
- 2022: 1
- 2023: 1
- 2024: 0
- 2025: 0
- 2026: 0
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