HTTP/3 server crash via unchecked QPACK length
Published May 13, 2026 · Updated May 13, 2026
Memory exhaustion in Netty netty-codec-http3 before 4.2.13.Final allows remote attackers to crash HTTP/3 servers via crafted headers. QpackDecoder#decodeHuffmanEncodedLiteral allocates a byte array from the QPACK literal length before confirming that the compressed field contains that many bytes. An unauthenticated peer must reach a Netty HTTP/3 endpoint; repeated malicious HEADERS frames can stall or crash the server without affecting confidentiality or integrity.
Summary
What happened
Memory exhaustion in Netty netty-codec-http3 before 4.2.13.Final allows remote attackers to crash HTTP/3 servers via crafted headers. QpackDecoder#decodeHuffmanEncodedLiteral allocates a byte array from the QPACK literal length before confirming that the compressed field contains that many bytes. An unauthenticated peer must reach a Netty HTTP/3 endpoint; repeated malicious HEADERS frames can stall or crash the server without affecting confidentiality or integrity.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-42582
- Published
- May 13, 2026
- Updated
- May 13, 2026
- Vendor
- The Netty Project
- Product
- netty-codec-http3
- Classifications
- CWE-789, CWE-770, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 13, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 13, 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=>= 4.2.0.Alpha1, < 4.2.13.Final
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- Upstream HTTP/3 HEADERS frame proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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