GHSA-mvh2-crg5-v77c: Netty SPDY zlib header block continues decoded expansion after maxHeaderSize truncation
Summary
Netty SPDY header decoding continues inflating zlib-compressed header blocks after the raw header parser has already exceeded maxHeaderSize and marked the frame truncated. At commit b2d2137c4404af425bf9d5d601a62576f5c06925, a 12,253-byte compressed SPDY header block can declare and inflate a 12 MiB header-name field with maxHeaderSize=16, forcing compression-amplified decode and skip work in a reachable SpdyFrameCodec pipeline.
PoC
poc.zip
run with:
bash ./poc/run.sh
expected output:
NETTY_SPDY_ZLIB_DECODED_AFTER_LIMIT_TRIGGERED compressed_bytes=12253 declared_name_length=12582912 max_header_size=16 truncated=true invalid=false
The fingerprint means the compressed input was fully consumed while the raw header parser ended with truncated=true and invalid=false after processing the oversized decoded name. That specific state distinguishes this bug from a generic setup failure: the maxHeaderSize guard fired, but the zlib/raw decode path still inflated and skipped the full 12 MiB declared name.
Impact
A remote unauthenticated peer that can speak SPDY to a Netty pipeline containing SpdyFrameCodec can send a small compressed HEADERS block that expands into much larger raw header data after the configured maxHeaderSize limit has already been exceeded. The attack requires a reachable SPDY codec, ordinary transport setup such as TCP and optional TLS, and no independent compressed-frame-size or connection-rate limit ahead of SpdyFrameCodec. The satisfied protocol guards are straightforward: the HEADERS frame uses a nonzero stream id and length >= 4, the decoder factory selects the zlib decoder, the payload uses the SPDY dictionary, and the raw block appends a zero-length value so the already-truncated frame reaches END_HEADER_BLOCK. The user-visible effect is denial of service through compression-amplified CPU and allocation churn.
Details
Original advisory: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-mvh2-crg5-v77c
Exploitation outlook
EPSS (FIRST.org) estimates each CVE’s probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — here is the CSIRTS.com read on those numbers.
- Low exploitation riskCVE-2026-558330.42% 30-day exploitation probability — currently an unlikely target, but scores change as exploit code circulates. Riskier than 35% of all scored CVEs.
Referenced CVEs
| CVE | CSIRTS overview | External |
|---|---|---|
| CVE-2026-55833 | coverage & exploitation status | NVD · CVE.org |
Same CVEs, other sources
How other CERTs, PSIRTs and databases cover the vulnerabilities in this advisory.
More from GitHub Security Advisories
- mediumGHSA-jr6p-8pjj-mfx6: Capsule has an incomplete fix of CVE-2026-22872: TenantResource RawItems and Generators s…2026-07-31
- mediumGHSA-68cj-mvg9-rgm2: Capsule: CapsuleConfiguration NodeMetadata regex fields lack webhook validation, allowing…2026-07-31
- mediumGHSA-ff84-5f28-78qj: re2: Out-of-bounds heap read in `exec`/`test`/`match` via attacker-influenced `lastIndex`…2026-07-31
- mediumGHSA-6hxr-mr5r-9836: re2: Global `String.prototype.match` with an empty-matchable pattern never advances → inf…2026-07-31
- mediumGHSA-x83g-979r-f5fh: Sylius Mollie Plugin has unauthenticated IDOR that leaks order token and customer PII2026-07-31