Vulnerability Report

CVE-2026-0994

Title: DoS via Recursion Stack Exhaustion in google.protobuf.json_format.ParseDict()

DoS

Proof Of Concept

PoC Available for CVE-2026-0994

CWE Category CWE-674
Published Date Jan 23, 2026
Modified Date Sep 01, 2026
Exploit Status Available
Score 8.2 CVSS v4.0
Exploit Probability (EPSS)
0.72%

Vulnerability Summary

CVE-2026-0994: A denial-of-service (DoS) vulnerability exists in google.protobuf.json_format.ParseDict() in Python, where the max_recursion_depth limit can be bypassed when parsing nested google.protobuf.Any messages. Due to missing recursion depth accounting inside the internal Any-handling logic, an attacker can supply deeply nested Any structures that bypass the intended recursion limit, eventually exhausting Python’s recursion stack and causing a RecursionError.

Impacted Vendors

G
google 1
G
golang 1

Reference Links

https://github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf/pull/25239
CVSS v4.0
Source Entity [email protected]
Severity HIGH
8.2
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
N/A
Interaction
NONE
Confidentiality
N/A
Integrity
N/A
Availability
N/A
Scope
N/A
RAW VECTOR CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:L/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
CVSS v3.1
Source Entity [email protected]
Severity HIGH
7.5
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
N/A
Interaction
NONE
Confidentiality
N/A
Integrity
N/A
Availability
N/A
Scope
UNCHANGED
RAW VECTOR CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CVSS v3.1
Source Entity 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
Severity HIGH
7.5
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
N/A
Interaction
NONE
Confidentiality
N/A
Integrity
N/A
Availability
N/A
Scope
UNCHANGED
RAW VECTOR CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Associated Attack Patterns (CAPEC)

Total: Patterns

CVE-2026-0994 Exploits & PoCs (Proof Of Concept)

GitHub https://github.com/Vardhan0257/upb-any-recursion-audit
View Code
MODIFIED

Vulnerability data updated via NVD.

MODIFIED

Vulnerability data updated via NVD.

MODIFIED

Vulnerability data updated via NVD.

MODIFIED

Vulnerability data updated via NVD.

MODIFIED

Vulnerability data updated via NVD.

MODIFIED

Vulnerability data updated via NVD.

MODIFIED

Vulnerability data updated via NVD.

Attack Vector Matrix

Access Vector NETWORK
Complexity LOW
Privileges N/A
Interaction NONE
CVSS Vector String CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:L/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

Affected Stack

No specific products linked.