Service interruption via null-byte XSLT allocation leak
Published Aug 25, 2026 · Updated Aug 25, 2026
Memory leak in Nokogiri before 1.19.3 allows remote attackers to exhaust process memory via null-byte XSLT parameters. Nokogiri::XSLT::Stylesheet#transform fails to release an approximately 24–32-byte heap allocation when a Ruby string parameter contains a null byte and raises the expected string-handling exception. Sustained high-rate calls with raw attacker-controlled bytes are required to grow memory enough to interrupt a long-running process; transform results, data confidentiality, and memory integrity are unaffected.
Summary
What happened
Memory leak in Nokogiri before 1.19.3 allows remote attackers to exhaust process memory via null-byte XSLT parameters. Nokogiri::XSLT::Stylesheet#transform fails to release an approximately 24–32-byte heap allocation when a Ruby string parameter contains a null byte and raises the expected string-handling exception. Sustained high-rate calls with raw attacker-controlled bytes are required to grow memory enough to interrupt a long-running process; transform results, data confidentiality, and memory integrity are unaffected.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-79771
- Published
- Aug 25, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 25, 2026
- Vendor
- Sparkle Motion
- Product
- Nokogiri
- Classifications
- CWE-401, T1499.003
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 25, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 25, 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=0 <1.19.3
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
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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