Process hang via zero-width global match loop
Published Jul 30, 2026 · Updated Jul 30, 2026
Denial of service in node-re2 before 1.25.2 allows attackers to hang Node.js processes via global empty-matchable RE2 patterns. The global match loop in lib/match.cc advances its native cursor only by the match length, so a zero-width match repeats at one position while its result vector grows. Triggering requires a consuming application to pass attacker-influenced input into this synchronous path; one call blocks the event loop and can exhaust host memory.
Summary
What happened
Denial of service in node-re2 before 1.25.2 allows attackers to hang Node.js processes via global empty-matchable RE2 patterns. The global match loop in lib/match.cc advances its native cursor only by the match length, so a zero-width match repeats at one position while its result vector grows. Triggering requires a consuming application to pass attacker-influenced input into this synchronous path; one call blocks the event loop and can exhaust host memory.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-68499
- Published
- Jul 30, 2026
- Updated
- Jul 30, 2026
- Vendor
- Eugene Lazutkin
- Product
- node-re2
- Classifications
- CWE-835, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 30, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jul 30, 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=< 1.25.2
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
- Global empty-match RE2 denial-of-service proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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