expr: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling
CVE-2025-29786 is a high-severity allocation of resources without limits or throttling vulnerability in expr from Expr-lang, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. Affected expr versions: < 1.17.0. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.63% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 51% of scored CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Check which version of expr you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
- Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
- Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.
Affected products and versions
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- NoneNo account or login is needed.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- NoneNo data is disclosed.
- Integrity
- NoneNothing can be modified.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H. Scored by CNA (github.com).
Official description
Expr is an expression language and expression evaluation for Go. Prior to version 1.17.0, if the Expr expression parser is given an unbounded input string, it will attempt to compile the entire string and generate an Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) node for each part of the expression. In scenarios where input size isn’t limited, a malicious or inadvertent extremely large expression can consume excessive memory as the parser builds a huge AST. This can ultimately lead to*excessive memory usage and an Out-Of-Memory (OOM) crash of the process. This issue is relatively uncommon and will only manifest when there are no restrictions on the input size, i.e. the expression length is allowed to grow arbitrarily large. In typical use cases where inputs are bounded or validated, this problem would not occur. The problem has been patched in the latest versions of the Expr library. The fix introduces compile-time limits on the number of AST nodes and memory usage during parsing, preventing any single expression from exhausting resources. Users should upgrade to Expr version 1.17.0 or later, as this release includes the new node budget and memory limit safeguards. Upgrading to v1.17.0 ensures that extremely deep or large expressions are detected and safely aborted during compilation, avoiding the OOM condition. For users who cannot immediately upgrade, the recommended workaround is to impose an input size restriction before parsing. In practice, this means validating or limiting the length of expression strings that your application will accept. For example, set a maximum allowable number of characters (or nodes) for any expression and reject or truncate inputs that exceed this limit. By ensuring no unbounded-length expression is ever fed into the parser, one can prevent the parser from constructing a pathologically large AST and avoid potential memory exhaustion. In short, pre-validate and cap input size as a safeguard in the absence of the patch.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling
The product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any intended restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Clearly specify the minimum and maximum expectations for capabilities, and dictate which behaviors are acceptable when resource allocation reaches limits.
- Limit the amount of resources that are accessible to unprivileged users. Set per-user limits for resources. Allow the system administrator to define these limits. Be careful to avoid CWE-410.
- For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks entirely. Then, these modified values would be submitted to the server.
More Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling vulnerabilities (CWE-770)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: yes, technical impact: partial).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Patches and release notes
Other vulnerabilities in expr
- 7.5 High severity
Recent Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling vulnerabilities
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.4 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
Spotted an error? Tell us.