Process crash via untracked recursive record merges
Published Aug 20, 2026 · Updated Aug 20, 2026
Uncontrolled recursion in deepmerge-ts before 8.0.0 allows attackers to crash Node.js processes via crafted recursive object graphs. The deepmerge, deepmergeCustom, deepmergeInto, and deepmergeIntoCustom APIs recursively merge enumerable record keys without tracking previously seen objects or object pairs, so two inputs that both self-reference at the same property path drive the merge back into the same state until Node.js throws RangeError: Maximum call stack size exceeded. Exploitation requires an application to pass attacker-controlled cyclic objects into one of those APIs; plain JSON alone does not create the required cycle, and the documented impact is process termination or worker restart loops rather than data exposure or modification.
Summary
What happened
Uncontrolled recursion in deepmerge-ts before 8.0.0 allows attackers to crash Node.js processes via crafted recursive object graphs. The deepmerge, deepmergeCustom, deepmergeInto, and deepmergeIntoCustom APIs recursively merge enumerable record keys without tracking previously seen objects or object pairs, so two inputs that both self-reference at the same property path drive the merge back into the same state until Node.js throws RangeError: Maximum call stack size exceeded. Exploitation requires an application to pass attacker-controlled cyclic objects into one of those APIs; plain JSON alone does not create the required cycle, and the documented impact is process termination or worker restart loops rather than data exposure or modification.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-40345
- Published
- Aug 20, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 20, 2026
- Vendor
- Rebecca Stevens
- Product
- deepmerge-ts
- Classifications
- CWE-674, T1499
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 20, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 20, 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=< 8.0.0
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
- CVE-2026-40345 PoC and scannerproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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