protobufjs: Code injection through bytes field defaults in generated toObject code
Priority LOW 36CWE-94Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- Present
- Impact type
- Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 11 fixed, 9 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA, GitHub and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-94.
Summary
protobufjs compiles protobuf definitions into JavaScript (JS) functions. Prior to 7.5.6 and 8.0.2, protobufjs generated JavaScript for toObject conversion could include an unsafe expression derived from a schema-controlled bytes field default value. A crafted descriptor with a non-string default value for a bytes field could cause attacker-controlled code to be emitted into the generated conversion function. This vulnerability is fixed in 7.5.6 and 8.0.2.
Why it matters now
Exploitation None reported CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.00407 35th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial protobuf.js (protobufjs): 7.5.6, 8.0.2protobufjs (npm): 7.5.6, 8.0.2Red Hat: 12 advisoriesRed Hat: 11 fixed, 9 without a fix
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| protobufjs | protobuf.js | before 7.5.6; 8.0.0 to before 8.0.2 | 7.5.6, 8.0.2 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | protobufjs (npm) | before 7.5.6 | 7.5.6 | Patch available | GHSA-66ff-xgx4-vchm |
| — | protobufjs (npm) | 8.0.0 to before 8.0.2 | 8.0.2 | Patch available | GHSA-66ff-xgx4-vchm |
- protobuf.js Vendorprotobufjs Affected before 7.5.6; 8.0.0 to before 8.0.2 Fixed in 7.5.6, 8.0.2 Patch available CNA
- protobufjs (npm) Vendor— Affected before 7.5.6 Fixed in 7.5.6 Patch available GHSA-66ff-xgx4-vchm
- protobufjs (npm) Vendor— Affected 8.0.0 to before 8.0.2 Fixed in 8.0.2 Patch available GHSA-66ff-xgx4-vchm
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:protobufjs_project:protobufjs:*:*:*:*:*:node.js:*:* | before 7.5.6; 8.0.0 to before 8.0.2 | Vulnerable | protobufjs |
- cpe:2.3:a:protobufjs_project:protobufjs:*:*:*:*:*:node.js:*:* Versions before 7.5.6; 8.0.0 to before 8.0.2 Vulnerable ·protobufjs
Remediation
- Fix · CNA protobuf.js (protobufjs) Fixed in 7.5.6, 8.0.2
- Fix · GHSA-66ff-xgx4-vchm protobufjs (npm) Fixed in 7.5.6 Advisory →
- Fix · GHSA-66ff-xgx4-vchm protobufjs (npm) Fixed in 8.0.2 Advisory →
Red Hat 12 advisories
- RHSA-2026:84734 Released 2026-10-19 · Red Hat rating CriticalRHOAI 3.4.5 - Red Hat OpenShift AI
- Red Hat OpenShift AI 3.4 registry.redhat.io/rhoai/odh-ai-gateway-payload-processing-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/rhoai/odh-automl-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/rhoai/odh-autorag-rhel9 +47
- RHSA-2026:60520 Released 2026-08-27 · Red Hat rating CriticalRHOAI 3.4.4 - Red Hat OpenShift AI
- Red Hat OpenShift AI 3.4 registry.redhat.io/rhoai/odh-automl-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/rhoai/odh-autorag-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/rhoai/odh-built-in-detector-rhel9 +47
- RHSA-2026:57487 Released 2026-08-26 · Red Hat rating ImportantOpenShift Container Platform 4.18.54 bug fix and security update
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.18 registry.redhat.io/openshift4/frr-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/openshift4/ose-cli-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/openshift4/ose-cloud-credential-rhel9-operator +2
Show 9 more Red Hat advisories
- RHSA-2026:54555 Released 2026-08-19 · Red Hat rating ImportantOpenShift Container Platform 4.19.43 bug fix and security update
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.19 registry.redhat.io/openshift4/ose-cli-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/openshift4/ose-console-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/openshift4/ose-monitoring-plugin-rhel9
- RHSA-2026:37628 Released 2026-07-14 · Red Hat rating ImportantOpenShift Container Platform 4.20.29 bug fix and security update
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.20 registry.redhat.io/openshift4/ose-console-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/openshift4/ose-monitoring-plugin-rhel9
- RHSA-2026:37186 Released 2026-07-14 · Red Hat rating ImportantOpenShift Container Platform 4.21.24 bug fix and security update
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.21 registry.redhat.io/openshift4/ose-console-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/openshift4/ose-monitoring-plugin-rhel9
- RHSA-2026:37385 Released 2026-07-09 · Red Hat rating Importantrh-podman-desktop security advisory update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Extensions Channel (v. 10) rh-podman-desktop-1.1.1-1.el10_2
- RHSA-2026:34374 Released 2026-07-01 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6 Container Release Update
- Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6 registry.redhat.io/ansible-automation-platform-26/controller-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/ansible-automation-platform-26/de-minimal-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/ansible-automation-platform-26/de-supported-rhel9 +5
- RHSA-2026:34160 Released 2026-07-01 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6 Product Security and Bug Fix Update
- Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6 for RHEL 9 automation-controller-4.7.13-2.el9ap, automation-controller-cli-4.7.13-2.el9ap, automation-controller-server-4.7.13-2.el9ap +7
- RHSA-2026:29795 Released 2026-06-30 · Red Hat rating ImportantOpenShift Container Platform 4.22.3 bug fix and security update
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.22 registry.redhat.io/openshift4/ose-console-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/openshift4/ose-csi-external-provisioner-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/openshift4/ose-monitoring-plugin-rhel9
- RHSA-2026:26234 Released 2026-06-16 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat Developer Hub 1.9.5 release.
- Red Hat Developer Hub 1.9 registry.redhat.io/rhdh/rhdh-hub-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/rhdh/rhdh-rhel9-operator
- RHSA-2026:26090 Released 2026-06-15 · Red Hat rating ImportantKiali 2.22.5 for Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.3
- Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.3 registry.redhat.io/openshift-service-mesh/kiali-ossmc-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/openshift-service-mesh/kiali-rhel9
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Important. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Build of Podman Desktop | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Ceph Storage 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Connectivity Link 1 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI (RHEL AI) 3 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Openshift Data Foundation 4 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Self-service automation portal 2 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:34374 |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6 for RHEL 9 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:34160 |
| Red Hat Developer Hub 1.9 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:26234 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Extensions Channel (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:37385 |
| Red Hat OpenShift AI 3.4 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:60520, RHSA-2026:84734 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.18 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:57487 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.19 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:54555 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.20 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:37628 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.21 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:37186 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.22 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:29795 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.3 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:26090 |
Not affected: 14 products
- OpenShift Pipelines
- Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6
- Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6 for RHEL 9
- Red Hat Developer Hub 1.9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Hardened Images
- Red Hat OpenShift AI 3.4
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.18
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.19
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.20
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.21
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.22
- Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.3
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-44293
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-66ff-xgx4-vchm
- 2026-10-20 Fix available: RHSA-2026:84734 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-20 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-24 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-25 EPSS moved to the below the 50th percentile
- 2026-10-30 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
More Protobufjs vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-29851 protobufjs has an arbitrary code execution issue CVSS 4.0CRITICAL 9.4
- TI-2023-18481 "protobuf.js (aka protobufjs) 6.10.0 through 7.x before 7.2.5 allows Prototype Pollution… CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-32260 protobufjs: Denial of service through unbounded protobuf recursion CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2022-09438 Prototype pollution in protobufjs CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.2
- TI-2026-42691 protobufjs: Denial of Service via infinite loop in .proto option parsing CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2026-35993 protobufjs: Denial of service through unbounded Any expansion during JSON conversion CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
Sources
- CVE-2026-44293 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-44293 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-66ff-xgx4-vchm · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-44293 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences