justhtml: Uncontrolled Recursion
CVE-2026-9769 is a high-severity uncontrolled recursion vulnerability in justhtml from EmilStenstrom, 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. The record lists version 1.10.0 as the first without the flaw, so updating justhtml to that release or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.34% 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
- Update justhtml to 1.10.0 or a later version.
- 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
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| EmilStenstrom | justhtml | before 1.10.0 | 1.10.0 |
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 (vulncheck.com).
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 4.0 | 8.7 | High | CNA (vulncheck.com) |
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.5 | High | CNA (vulncheck.com) |
Official description
justhtml through 1.9.1 (fixed in 1.10.0) is vulnerable to uncontrolled recursion leading to denial of service. During JustHTML() construction, TreeBuilder.finish() unconditionally calls _populate_selectedcontent(), which recursively traverses the DOM tree via _find_elements()/_find_element() without a depth bound. An attacker who can supply HTML for parsing can provide deeply nested elements (e.g., ~1000 nested <div> tags, roughly 11 KB) to exceed CPython's default recursion limit and trigger an unhandled RecursionError, which may abort parsing, fail requests, or terminate a worker/process depending on the host application's exception handling.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Uncontrolled Recursion
The product does not properly control the amount of recursion that takes place, consuming excessive resources, such as allocated memory or the program stack.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Ensure that an end condition will be reached under all logic conditions. The end condition may include checking against the depth of recursion and exiting with an error if the recursion goes too deep. The complexity of the end condition contributes to the effectiveness of this action.
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: poc, automatable: yes, technical impact: partial).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Other vulnerabilities in justhtml
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 7.5 High severity
Recent Uncontrolled Recursion vulnerabilities
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.1 High severity
- 8.2 High severity
- 8.7 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
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