CVE-2023-5072Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Process crash via exponential JSON key escaping

Published Oct 12, 2023 · Updated Feb 13, 2025

Denial of service in JSON-Java 20230618 and earlier allows remote attackers to crash a consuming process with crafted JSON input. The parser accepts nested JSON objects as keys, then repeatedly escapes backslashes while converting those keys to strings, causing exponential memory growth. Exploitation requires an application to parse attacker-controlled JSON; the demonstrated result is an OutOfMemoryError and process crash, with no reported data disclosure or modification.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability1.45%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Denial of service in JSON-Java 20230618 and earlier allows remote attackers to crash a consuming process with crafted JSON input. The parser accepts nested JSON objects as keys, then repeatedly escapes backslashes while converting those keys to strings, causing exponential memory growth. Exploitation requires an application to parse attacker-controlled JSON; the demonstrated result is an OutOfMemoryError and process crash, with no reported data disclosure or modification.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-5072
Published
Oct 12, 2023
Updated
Feb 13, 2025
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-770, CWE-358, T1499.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 12, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Feb 13, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

7.5GitHub Advisory DatabaseCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-770Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling
CWE-358Improperly Implemented Security Check for Standard
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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