protobufjs: Denial of Service via unbounded recursive JSON descriptor expansion
Summary
protobufjs could recurse without a depth limit while expanding nested JSON descriptors through Root.fromJSON() and Namespace.addJSON().
A crafted JSON descriptor with deeply nested namespace definitions could cause the JavaScript call stack to be exhausted during descriptor loading.
Impact
An attacker who can provide JSON descriptors loaded by an application may be able to crash the process or otherwise cause schema loading to fail with a stack overflow.
This affects applications that load JSON descriptors from untrusted sources with affected versions.
Preconditions
- The application must load JSON descriptor data influenced by an attacker.
- The crafted descriptor must contain deeply nested
nestednamespace objects. - The affected
Root.fromJSON()/Namespace.addJSON()descriptor expansion path must process the crafted input.
Workarounds
Avoid loading untrusted protobuf JSON descriptors with affected versions. If immediate upgrade is not possible, reject excessively nested descriptor structures at an outer validation boundary where feasible, or isolate descriptor loading in a process that can be safely restarted.
Affected software
Click a technology to see all vulnerabilities affecting it.
| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| npm package | protobufjs | < 7.5.8, >= 8.0.0, < 8.2.0 | 7.5.8, 8.2.0 |
References
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-674- Platform
- npm
- Package
protobufjs- Disclosed
- 19.05.2026
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 10:22
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-jggg-4jg4-v7c6 - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: protobufjs
All published vulnerabilities of this package (npm package), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
- Total entries
- 17
- First → latest
- 10.2018 07.2026
- Without a fix
- 0
- Exploited in attacks
- 0
Severity breakdown
- Critical 2
- High 6
- Medium 9
Disclosures per year
- 2018: 1
- 2019: 0
- 2020: 0
- 2021: 0
- 2022: 1
- 2023: 1
- 2024: 0
- 2025: 0
- 2026: 14
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protobufjs: Denial of Service via unbounded recursive JSON descriptor expansion this entry
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