smol-toml: Denial of Service via malformed TOML documents
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 · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 1 fixed, 2 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA, GitHub and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-835.
Summary
smol-toml is a small, fast, and correct TOML parser and serializer. Prior to 1.7.1, parse() can enter an infinite loop when a value inside an array or inline table is followed by a comment with no trailing newline. In src/util.ts, skipUntil() calls indexOfNewline(), receives -1 at the end of input, and resets the cursor to the beginning of the string instead of leaving the structure scan. The parser then hangs indefinitely and can consume a service's processing capacity when an application parses attacker-controlled TOML. This issue is fixed in version 1.7.1.
Why it matters now
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
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| squirrelchat | smol-toml | before 1.7.1 | 1.7.1 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | smol-toml (npm) | before 1.7.1 | 1.7.1 | Patch available | GHSA-7w5x-hrqm-74c2 |
- smol-toml Vendorsquirrelchat Affected before 1.7.1 Fixed in 1.7.1 Patch available CNA
- smol-toml (npm) Vendor— Affected before 1.7.1 Fixed in 1.7.1 Patch available GHSA-7w5x-hrqm-74c2
Remediation
- Fix · CNA smol-toml (squirrelchat) Fixed in 1.7.1
- Fix · GHSA-7w5x-hrqm-74c2 smol-toml (npm) Fixed in 1.7.1 Advisory →
Red Hat 1 advisory
- 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
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 Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat OpenShift AI 3.4 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:84734 |
Not affected: 5 products
- Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2
- Red Hat Developer Hub 1
- Red Hat Hardened Images
- Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI)
- Red Hat OpenShift AI 3.4
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-85730
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-7w5x-hrqm-74c2
- 2026-10-13 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-20 Fix available: RHSA-2026:84734 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-20 Fix available: Red Hat OpenShift AI 3.4 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-27 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
Other 5
- https://github.com/squirrelchat/smol-toml/security/advisories/GHSA-7w5x-hrqm-74c2
- https://github.com/squirrelchat/smol-toml/commit/30f5c367d946b695f379b5d4f0946b2f0a0a8c2f
- https://github.com/squirrelchat/smol-toml/releases/tag/v1.7.1
- https://medium.com/@ravindu.lakmina1/seven-bytes-that-freeze-a-node-js-server-forever-the-story-of-cve-2026-85730-3213328b38f0
- https://github.com/squirrelchat/smol-toml
Sources
- CVE-2026-85730 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-85730 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-7w5x-hrqm-74c2 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-85730 · 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