quic-go: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling
CVE-2026-40898 is a high-severity allocation of resources without limits or throttling vulnerability in quic-go, 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 quic-go versions: < 0.59.1. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.4% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Check which version of quic-go 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 NVD.
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | 5.3 | Medium | CNA (github.com) |
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.5 | High | NVD |
Official description
quic-go is an implementation of the QUIC protocol in Go. Prior to version 0.59.1, an attacker can cause excessive memory allocation in quic-go's HTTP/3 client and server implementations by sending a QPACK-encoded HEADERS frame that decodes into a large trailer field section with many unique field names and/or large values. The implementation builds an `http.Header` for the corresponding `http.Request` or `http.Response`, while only enforcing limits on the size of the QPACK-compressed HEADERS frame, not on the decoded field section. This can lead to memory exhaustion. This is very similar to CVE-2025-64702. The difference is that this issue uses HTTP trailers, rather than HTTP headers, as the attack vector. A misbehaving or malicious peer can cause a denial-of-service (DoS) attack against quic-go's HTTP/3 servers or clients by triggering excessive memory allocation, potentially leading to crashes or resource exhaustion. This affects both servers and clients due to symmetric header construction. Version 0.59.1 enforces RFC 9114 decoded field section size limits for trailers as well. It incrementally decodes QPACK entries and checks the field section size after each entry, aborting the stream if an entry causes the limit to be exceeded.
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
Advisories
Patches and release notes
- github.com/quic-go/quic-go/releases/tag/v0.59.1Product, Release Notes
Other vulnerabilities in quic-go
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
Recent Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling vulnerabilities
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
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- 7.5 High severity
- 8.2 High severity
- 8.2 High severity
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