Authenticated process crash via unbounded WebSocket decompression
Published Aug 21, 2026 · Updated Aug 21, 2026
Denial of service in WeeChat 4.3.0 through 4.9.0 allows remote authenticated users to crash the process via a compressed relay frame. The relay_websocket_inflate() loop doubles its destination buffer without an output cap while inflating permessage-deflate data. The API relay must be enabled and reachable with valid credentials; one small frame can exhaust memory and terminate all sessions in the process.
Summary
What happened
Denial of service in WeeChat 4.3.0 through 4.9.0 allows remote authenticated users to crash the process via a compressed relay frame. The relay_websocket_inflate() loop doubles its destination buffer without an output cap while inflating permessage-deflate data. The API relay must be enabled and reachable with valid credentials; one small frame can exhaust memory and terminate all sessions in the process.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-53524
- Published
- Aug 21, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 21, 2026
- Vendor
- WeeChat
- Product
- WeeChat
- Classifications
- CWE-409, T1499
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 21, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 21, 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=>= 4.3.0, < 4.9.1
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
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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