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TI-2026-42386 Aliases CVE-2026-59246

Zero-length HTTP/2 CONTINUATION frames bypass Mint's header-block byte-size cap and exhaust client memory

Priority MEDIUM 61CWE-770Published · Updated

Key facts

Attack vector
Network
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low
Attack requirements
Present
Impact type
Denial of service
Confidentiality · integrity · availability
None · None · Low
Fix status
Fixed

Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-770.

Summary

Allocation of resources without limits vulnerability in elixir-mint mint allows a remote HTTP/2 server to exhaust memory on the client host and cause a denial of service. The Mint.HTTP2.handle_continuation/3 function in lib/mint/http2.ex accumulates the header-block fragment carried by each HTTP/2 CONTINUATION frame into a growing conn.headers_being_processed nesting, one level deeper per frame, and only releases it when a frame with the END_HEADERS flag arrives. The only guard on this accumulator is Mint.HTTP2.assert_header_block_within_max_size/2, which sums the byte size of the fragments received so far. Because a CONTINUATION frame is permitted by the protocol to carry a zero-length payload, an unbounded chain of zero-length CONTINUATION frames adds no bytes to the running total, never trips the size cap, and never emits END_HEADERS, yet each frame still nests the accumulator one level deeper. A malicious HTTP/2 server (reachable directly, via an attacker-controlled redirect, via SSRF, or via a man-in-the-middle) can open a stream by sending a HEADERS frame without END_HEADERS and then stream zero-length CONTINUATION frames indefinitely. Client memory grows one cons cell per frame received; sustained bandwidth from the peer drives the BEAM node running the Mint client to memory exhaustion and eventual out-of-memory termination. This issue affects mint: from 0.1.0 before 1.9.2.

Why it matters now

Exploitation Proof of concept CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.00502 43rd percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Fixed mint (elixir-mint): 1.9.2

SSVC decision points

CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3

Exploitation
Poc
Automatable
No
Technical impact
Partial

The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.

Affected products

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
elixir-mintmint0.1.0 to before 1.9.21.9.2Patch availableCNA
  • mint Vendorelixir-mint Affected 0.1.0 to before 1.9.2 Fixed in 1.9.2 Patch available CNA

CPE names CNA · 1

CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:a:elixir-mint:mint:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*———
  • cpe:2.3:a:elixir-mint:mint:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions — — ·—

Remediation

  • Fix · CNA mint (elixir-mint) Fixed in 1.9.2

Fixed in the same release

Records fixed by the same vendor advisory or release, as the CNA lists them.

  • Release ·

    elixir-mint mint 1.9.2

    2 records Highest priority Priority HIGH 1 HIGH, 1 MEDIUM

    Other records, highest priority first

    • TI-2026-41932 Unbounded HTTP/1 response-header and chunked-trailer accumulation in Mint causes memory-exhaustion DoSPriority HIGH 69

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-59246

References

  • TI-2026-41929 Unauthenticated denial-of-service via unbounded HPACK integer decoding in hpax CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
  • TI-2026-40963 mint buffers an entire chunked response chunk in memory in Mint.HTTP1.decode_body/5 CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
  • TI-2026-36665 HTTP/2 CONTINUATION flood in Mint client via unbounded header-block accumulation CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.2
  • TI-2026-36126 Unbounded conn.streams growth in Mint HTTP/2 client via unenforced PUSH_PROMISE concurrency CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.2
  • TI-2026-57046 Unbounded HTTP/1 status-line and chunk-extension buffering in Mint causes memory-exhaustion DoS CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.2
  • TI-2026-41932 Unbounded HTTP/1 response-header and chunked-trailer accumulation in Mint causes memory-exhaustion DoS CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.2
See all 14 →

Sources

This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences