CVE-2026-8723Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Request interruption via null array element encoding

Published May 16, 2026 · Updated May 16, 2026

Denial of service in ljharb qs 6.11.1 through 6.15.1 allows remote attackers to interrupt affected requests via crafted array input. The comma-format encodeValuesOnly branch passes null or undefined array elements to utils.encode, which reads length before null handling and throws TypeError. Exploitation requires both non-default options and application-controlled array elements; framework error boundaries usually limit impact to an HTTP 500 for that request.

CVSS severity6.3
Medium
EPSS probability0.36%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Denial of service in ljharb qs 6.11.1 through 6.15.1 allows remote attackers to interrupt affected requests via crafted array input. The comma-format encodeValuesOnly branch passes null or undefined array elements to utils.encode, which reads length before null handling and throws TypeError. Exploitation requires both non-default options and application-controlled array elements; framework error boundaries usually limit impact to an HTTP 500 for that request.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-8723
Published
May 16, 2026
Updated
May 16, 2026
Vendor
ljharb
Product
qs
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 16, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 16, 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=6.11.1 <6.15.2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

ljharb · qsversion=6.11.1 <6.15.2

Published CVSS scores

5.3harboristCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
6.3harboristCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

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.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-476NULL Pointer Dereference
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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