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Fencer Vulns
high 7.5

CVE-2026-0994 json

Denial of Service in Python Protobuf

published 2026-01-23 9 mo ago modified 2026-09-10 1 mo ago also EUVD-2026-4322 , GHSA-7gcm-g887-7qv7 , PYSEC-2026-1805

cvss
7.5
version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev
Not listed
not in CISA's catalog
epss
0.7%
EPSS 0.7% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 53%
public exploits
0
none known

Summary

A denial-of-service (DoS) vulnerability exists in google.protobuf.json_format.ParseDict() in Python, where the max_recursion_depth limit can be bypassed when parsing nested google.protobuf.Any messages.

Due to missing recursion depth accounting inside the internal Any-handling logic, an attacker can supply deeply nested Any structures that bypass the intended recursion limit, eventually exhausting Python’s recursion stack and causing a RecursionError.

Patch / fix

  • pypi protobuf 5.29.6, 6.33.5
  • Red Hat Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.5 for RHEL 8 0:5.29.6-1.el8ap
  • Red Hat Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.5 for RHEL 9 0:5.29.6-1.el9ap
  • Red Hat Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6 for RHEL 9 0:5.29.6-1.el9ap
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 0:3.19.6-15.el10_1
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support 0:3.19.6-11.el10_0.1
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 0:3.14.0-17.el9_7
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.0 Update Services for SAP Solutions 0:3.14.0-9.el9_0.1
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2 Update Services for SAP Solutions 0:3.14.0-13.el9_2.1
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4 Extended Update Support 0:3.14.0-13.el9_4.1
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.6 Extended Update Support 0:3.14.0-16.el9_6.1
  • Red Hat Red Hat AI Inference Server 3.2 1772160593, 1772160625
  • Red Hat Red Hat AI Inference Server 3.3 1775680192, 1775680262, 1775749857, 1778244546
  • protobuf Debian 12 3.21.12-3+deb12u1
  • protobuf Debian 13 3.21.12-11+deb13u1
  • protobuf Debian 14 3.21.12-16

debian advisories DEBIAN-CVE-2026-0994

  • protobuf Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 3.12.4-1ubuntu7.22.04.6
  • protobuf Ubuntu 24.04 LTS 3.21.12-8.2ubuntu0.3
  • protobuf Ubuntu 25.10 3.21.12-11ubuntu3.1
  • protobuf Ubuntu 26.10, Ubuntu 26.04 LTS 3.21.12-15ubuntu1
  • protobuf Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS 3.0.0-9.1ubuntu1.1+esm4
  • protobuf Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS 3.6.1.3-2ubuntu5.2+esm3

ubuntu advisories UBUNTU-CVE-2026-0994

Ubuntu security data © Canonical Ltd., from https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices via OSV; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. CC BY-SA 4.0

  • receptor ansible automation platform inside 2.5, ansible automation platform developer 2.5, ansible automation platform 2.5 1.6.3-4.el8ap
  • receptor ansible automation platform inside 2.6, ansible automation platform inside 2.5, ansible automation platform developer 2.6 +3 more 1.6.3-4.el9ap
  • receptorctl ansible automation platform inside 2.5, ansible automation platform developer 2.5, ansible automation platform 2.5 1.6.3-4.el8ap
  • receptorctl ansible automation platform inside 2.6, ansible automation platform inside 2.5, ansible automation platform developer 2.6 +3 more 1.6.3-4.el9ap
  • python3.12-django ansible automation platform developer 2.5, ansible automation platform 2.5 4.2.28-1.el8ap
  • python3.12-django ansible automation platform developer 2.6, ansible automation platform developer 2.5, ansible automation platform 2.6 +1 more 4.2.28-1.el9ap
  • automation-gateway ansible automation platform 2.5 2.5.20260225-1.el8ap
  • automation-gateway ansible automation platform 2.5 2.5.20260225-1.el9ap

red hat advisories RHSA-2026:3959RHSA-2026:3958RHSA-2026:3220RHSA-2026:3218RHSA-2026:3219RHSA-2026:3097

  • protobuf SLES 16.0, Linux Micro 6.2, SLES for SAP applications 16.0 28.3-160000.3.1
  • protobuf-java SLES for SAP applications 16.0, SLES 16.0 28.3-160000.3.1
  • python-protobuf SLES for SAP applications 16.0, SLES 16.0 5.28.3-160000.3.1
  • protobuf SLE Module for Public Cloud 15 SP7, SLE Module for Public Cloud 15 SP6, SLE Module for Public Cloud 15 SP5 +7 more 3.9.2-150200.4.30.1
  • protobuf Linux Micro 6.1 23.4-slfo.1.1_3.1
  • protobuf SLE Module for Public Cloud 15 SP4, SLE Micro 5.4, SLE Micro 5.3 25.1-150400.9.19.1
  • protobuf SLE Module for Public Cloud 15 SP5, SLE Micro 5.5 25.1-150500.12.14.1
  • protobuf Linux Micro 6.0 23.4-11.1

suse advisories SUSE-SU-2026:20753-1SUSE-SU-2026:20907-1SUSE-SU-2026:0618-1SUSE-SU-2026:20490-1SUSE-SU-2026:0563-1SUSE-SU-2026:0517-1

  • onnxruntime openSUSE Tumbleweed 1.31.0-1.1
  • protobuf openSUSE Tumbleweed 34.1-1.1
  • protobuf openSUSE Leap 16.0 28.3-160000.3.1
  • protobuf-java openSUSE Leap 16.0 28.3-160000.3.1
  • python-protobuf openSUSE Leap 16.0 5.28.3-160000.3.1

opensuse advisories openSUSE-SU-2026:12274-1openSUSE-SU-2026:10515-1openSUSE-SU-2026:20390-1

  • protobuf AlmaLinux 10 3.19.6-15.el10_1
  • protobuf-lite AlmaLinux 10 3.19.6-15.el10_1
  • python3-protobuf AlmaLinux 10 3.19.6-15.el10_1
  • protobuf-compiler AlmaLinux 10 3.19.6-15.el10_1
  • protobuf AlmaLinux 9 3.14.0-17.el9_7
  • protobuf-lite AlmaLinux 9 3.14.0-17.el9_7
  • python3-protobuf AlmaLinux 9 3.14.0-17.el9_7
  • protobuf-compiler AlmaLinux 9 3.14.0-17.el9_7

almalinux advisories ALSA-2026:3094ALSA-2026:3095

  • protobuf Rocky Linux 10 3.19.6-15.el10_1
  • protobuf Rocky Linux 9 3.14.0-17.el9_7

rocky linux advisories RLSA-2026:3094RLSA-2026:3095

  • protobuf Azure Linux 3.0 25.3-6
  • mysql CBL-Mariner 2.0 8.0.45-2
  • protobuf CBL-Mariner 2.0 3.17.3-5
  • pytorch CBL-Mariner 2.0 2.0.0-14
  • pytorch Azure Linux 3.0 2.2.2-12

azure linux advisories AZL-75830AZL-76481AZL-76487AZL-76505AZL-76602

Azure Linux vulnerability data, Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation, from https://github.com/microsoft/AzureLinuxVulnerabilityData via OSV, under the MIT licence; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. MIT

Vendor advisories

What the vendors themselves say about their products: affected, fixed or not affected, and what to do.

red hat product security vex CVE-2026-0994 updated cvss 7.5

python: protobuf: Protobuf: Denial of Service due to recursion depth bypass

  • Red Hat AI Inference Server 3.2 rhaiis 1772160593, rhaiis 1772160625, rhaiis/vllm-cuda-rhel9 1787860580, rhaiis/vllm-rocm-rhel9 1787884873
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2026:61627
  • Red Hat AI Inference Server 3.3 rhaiis 1775680192, rhaiis 1775680262, rhaiis 1775749857, rhaiis 1778244546
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2026:8748
  • Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.5 for RHEL 8 python3.12-protobuf 5.29.6-1.el8ap Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.5 for RHEL 9 python3.12-protobuf 5.29.6-1.el9ap
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2026:3959
  • Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6 for RHEL 9 python3.12-protobuf 5.29.6-1.el9ap
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2026:3958
  • Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.9.4) protobuf-compiler 3.14.0-13.el9_4.1
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2026:3059
  • Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.9.6) protobuf-compiler 3.14.0-16.el9_6.1
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2026:3219
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) protobuf 3.14.0-17.el9_7, protobuf-lite 3.14.0-17.el9_7, python3-protobuf 3.14.0-17.el9_7
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2026:3095
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 10) protobuf 3.19.6-15.el10_1, protobuf-lite 3.19.6-15.el10_1, python3-protobuf 3.19.6-15.el10_1
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2026:3094
show 12 more
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream E4S (v.9.0) protobuf 3.14.0-9.el9_0.1, protobuf-lite 3.14.0-9.el9_0.1, python3-protobuf 3.14.0-9.el9_0.1
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2026:3097
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream E4S (v.9.2) protobuf 3.14.0-13.el9_2.1, protobuf-lite 3.14.0-13.el9_2.1, python3-protobuf 3.14.0-13.el9_2.1
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2026:3220
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v. 10.0) protobuf 3.19.6-11.el10_0.1, protobuf-lite 3.19.6-11.el10_0.1, python3-protobuf 3.19.6-11.el10_0.1
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2026:3218
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v.9.4) protobuf 3.14.0-13.el9_4.1, protobuf-lite 3.14.0-13.el9_4.1, python3-protobuf 3.14.0-13.el9_4.1
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2026:3059
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v.9.6) protobuf 3.14.0-16.el9_6.1, protobuf-lite 3.14.0-16.el9_6.1, python3-protobuf 3.14.0-16.el9_6.1
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2026:3219
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9) protobuf-compiler 3.14.0-17.el9_7
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2026:3095
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 10) protobuf-compiler 3.19.6-15.el10_1
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2026:3094
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v. 10.0) protobuf-compiler 3.19.6-11.el10_0.1
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2026:3218
  • Red Hat AMQ Clients protobuf
    not affected: component not present
  • Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 python-protobuf, python3x-protobuf Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.5 for RHEL 8 tox 4.15.1-2.el8ap, uwsgi 2.0.28-2.el8ap, bindep 2.13.0-2.el8ap, receptor 1.6.3-4.el8ap, yamllint 1.35.1-2.el8ap, molecule 25.12.0-2.el8ap, +301 more Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.5 for RHEL 9 tox 4.15.1-2.el9ap, uwsgi 2.0.28-2.el9ap, bindep 2.13.0-2.el9ap, receptor 1.6.3-4.el9ap, yamllint 1.35.1-2.el9ap, molecule 25.12.0-2.el9ap, +298 more Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6 for RHEL 9 tox 4.15.1-2.el9ap, uwsgi 2.0.28-2.el9ap, bindep 2.13.0-2.el9ap, receptor 1.6.3-4.el9ap, yamllint 1.35.1-2.el9ap, molecule 25.12.0-2.el9ap, +332 more Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6 for RHEL 10 receptor 1.6.3-4.el10ap, receptorctl 1.6.3-4.el10ap, ansible-core 2.16.16-2.el10ap, python-django 4.2.28-2.el10ap, python3-django 4.2.28-2.el10ap
    not affected: vulnerable code not present
  • Red Hat Hardened Images protobuf-c
    not affected: component not present
  • Red Hat OpenStack Platform 16.2 protobuf, python3-protobuf
    not affected: vulnerable code not in execute path

Red Hat CSAF VEX © Red Hat, Inc., from https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/; changed: reduced to product statuses and remediations. CC BY 4.0 · csaf

CISA SSVC

Exploitation
none
Automatable
yes
Technical impact
partial
Assessed
9 mo ago

Exploit prediction

0.71% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 53% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
CNA 4.0 8.2 CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:L
CISA ADP 3.1 7.5 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CNA 4.0 8.2 CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:L/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
NVD 3.1 7.5 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CNA 3.1 7.5 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Affected packages

ecosystem package affected fixed in
pypi protobuf
>=6.30.0rc1, <6.33.5
<5.29.6
6.33.5
5.29.6

Affected products

  • Python Protobuf
  • Red Hat Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.5 for RHEL 8
  • Red Hat Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.5 for RHEL 9
  • Red Hat Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6 for RHEL 9
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.0 Update Services for SAP Solutions
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2 Update Services for SAP Solutions
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4 Extended Update Support
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.6 Extended Update Support
  • Red Hat Red Hat AI Inference Server 3.2
  • Red Hat Red Hat AI Inference Server 3.3
  • Red Hat Red Hat AMQ Clients
  • Red Hat Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2
  • Red Hat Red Hat Hardened Images
  • Red Hat Red Hat OpenStack Platform 16.2

Classification

Weakness

References

Sources

Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.

CPEs and fixed versions use Anchore's correction of NVD's data: Correct affected version ranges + more precise ecosystem targeting.