Memory exhaustion via unbounded ZIP member decompression
Published Aug 25, 2026 · Updated Aug 26, 2026
Uncontrolled resource consumption in CPython before 3.16.0 allows attackers to exhaust memory by opening a crafted ZIP archive. ZipExtFile._read1 passes bzip2, LZMA, and Zstandard data to decompress() without a max_length, so a complete chunk expands before output clipping. The gate is a consuming application opening an attacker-supplied archive, and the bounded consequence is memory exhaustion rather than data access or modification.
Summary
What happened
Uncontrolled resource consumption in CPython before 3.16.0 allows attackers to exhaust memory by opening a crafted ZIP archive. ZipExtFile._read1 passes bzip2, LZMA, and Zstandard data to decompress() without a max_length, so a complete chunk expands before output clipping. The gate is a consuming application opening an attacker-supplied archive, and the bounded consequence is memory exhaustion rather than data access or modification.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-15310
- Published
- Aug 25, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 26, 2026
- Vendor
- Python Software Foundation
- Product
- CPython
- Classifications
- CWE-400, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 25, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 26, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0 <3.15.0
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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