Service interruption via database connection pool exhaustion
Published Jan 19, 2026 · Updated Jan 19, 2026
Uncontrolled resource consumption in ChatterBot 1.2.10 and earlier allows remote attackers to interrupt chatbot service. Concurrent get_response() calls consume SQLAlchemy QueuePool connections that are not released in time because concurrency limits and explicit session-lifecycle controls are absent. The condition is reachable without authentication only when a deployment exposes concurrent access; subsequent requests block or fail, and service recovery requires a manual restart.
Summary
What happened
Uncontrolled resource consumption in ChatterBot 1.2.10 and earlier allows remote attackers to interrupt chatbot service. Concurrent get_response() calls consume SQLAlchemy QueuePool connections that are not released in time because concurrency limits and explicit session-lifecycle controls are absent. The condition is reachable without authentication only when a deployment exposes concurrent access; subsequent requests block or fail, and service recovery requires a manual restart.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-23842
- Published
- Jan 19, 2026
- Updated
- Jan 19, 2026
- Vendor
- Gunther Cox
- Product
- ChatterBot
- Classifications
- CWE-400, T1499
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jan 19, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jan 19, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.
Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=< 1.2.11
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Public exploit references
- Concurrent get_response() denial-of-service proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo