joserfc: b64=false RFC7797 JWS payloads bypass JWSRegistry payload-size limits during deserialization
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · Low
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA, GitHub and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-400.
Summary
joserfc is a Python library that provides an implementation of several JSON Object Signing and Encryption (JOSE) standards. In versions 1.3.4 through 1.6.5, joserfc accepts oversized RFC7797 b64=false JWS payloads without applying JWSRegistry.max_payload_length, which can lead to resource exhaustion. The normal JWS compact and flattened JSON paths reject payloads above the configured payload-size limit with ExceededSizeError. The RFC7797 unencoded payload paths do not make the same check. A valid b64=false compact or flattened JSON JWS can therefore deserialize successfully with a payload larger than JWSRegistry.max_payload_length. Applications that accept lower-trust JWS values and rely on joserfc to reject oversized token content during verification have a moderate availability risk. This issue has been fixed in version 1.6.7.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- Poc
- Automatable
- Yes
- Technical impact
- Partial
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| authlib | joserfc | before 1.6.7 | 1.6.7 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | joserfc (PyPI) | 1.3.4 to before 1.6.7 | 1.6.7 | Patch available | GHSA-wphv-vfrh-23q5 |
- joserfc Vendorauthlib Affected before 1.6.7 Fixed in 1.6.7 Patch available CNA
- joserfc (PyPI) Vendor— Affected 1.3.4 to before 1.6.7 Fixed in 1.6.7 Patch available GHSA-wphv-vfrh-23q5
Remediation
- Fix · CNA joserfc (authlib) Fixed in 1.6.7
- Fix · GHSA-wphv-vfrh-23q5 joserfc (PyPI) Fixed in 1.6.7 Advisory →
Red Hat 4 advisories
- RHSA-2026:50479 Released 2026-08-04 · 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 +7
- RHSA-2026:50340 Released 2026-08-04 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.7 Container Release Update
- Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.7 registry.redhat.io/ansible-automation-platform-27/controller-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/ansible-automation-platform-27/de-minimal-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/ansible-automation-platform-27/de-supported-rhel9 +7
- RHSA-2026:43038 Released 2026-07-21 · Red Hat rating CriticalMigration Toolkit for Applications
- Red Hat Migration Toolkit for Applications 8.2 registry.redhat.io/mta/mta-cli-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/mta/mta-solution-server-rhel9
Show 1 more Red Hat advisories
- RHSA-2026:25039 Released 2026-06-10 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat Hardened Images RPMs bug fix and enhancement update
- Red Hat Hardened Images jaeger-2.19.0-1.hum1@aarch64, jaeger-2.19.0-1.hum1@src, jaeger-2.19.0-1.hum1@x86_64
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:50479 |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.7 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:50340 |
| Red Hat Hardened Images | Fixed | RHSA-2026:25039 |
| Red Hat Migration Toolkit for Applications 8.2 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:43038 |
Not affected: 4 products
- Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6
- Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.7
- Red Hat Migration Toolkit for Applications 8.2
- Red Hat Satellite 6
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-48990
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-wphv-vfrh-23q5
References
More authlib vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-65772 Insufficient verification of data authenticity in Authlib CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-74876 Signature verification bypass in joserfc JWS deserialization CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.1
- TI-2026-22305 Authlib JWS JWK Header Injection: Signature Verification Bypass CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.1
- TI-2025-40202 Resource allocation without limits in authlib joserfc CVSS 4.0CRITICAL 9.2
- TI-2026-36756 joserfc: HS256/HS384/HS512 verify accepts empty/nil HMAC key (cross-language sibling of CVE-2026-45363) CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-79518 Authlib fix bypass lets attackers forge HS256 tokens with PEM keys CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.1
Sources
- CVE-2026-48990 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-48990 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-wphv-vfrh-23q5 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-48990 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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