Denial of service via unbounded JSON recursion
Published Aug 7, 2026 · Updated Aug 7, 2026
Uncontrolled recursion in HAPI FHIR before 6.9.11 allows remote attackers to crash validation workers with deeply nested JSON. JsonParser's readObject() and readArray() recurse on nested objects and arrays without a depth counter, exhausting the Java stack before FHIR structural validation. Reachability requires a path that accepts attacker-supplied FHIR JSON for parsing or validation; the bounded consequence is request-thread failure, with worker loss or process instability where StackOverflowError is not isolated.
Summary
What happened
Uncontrolled recursion in HAPI FHIR before 6.9.11 allows remote attackers to crash validation workers with deeply nested JSON. JsonParser's readObject() and readArray() recurse on nested objects and arrays without a depth counter, exhausting the Java stack before FHIR structural validation. Reachability requires a path that accepts attacker-supplied FHIR JSON for parsing or validation; the bounded consequence is request-thread failure, with worker loss or process instability where StackOverflowError is not isolated.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-62295
- Published
- Aug 7, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 7, 2026
- Vendor
- HAPI FHIR
- Product
- org.hl7.fhir.r5
- Classifications
- CWE-20, CWE-674, CWE-400, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 7, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 7, 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=< 6.9.11
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- Deeply nested FHIR JSON StackOverflowError proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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