Uncontrolled resource consumption in Apache bRPC HTTP/2 receive path
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CISA ADP. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-400.
Summary
Apache bRPC before 1.18.0 has uncontrolled resource consumption in its HTTP/2 receive path, on all platforms. A remote unauthenticated attacker who sends crafted HTTP/2 frames can crash the server or make its memory grow without bound (CWE-400). The HTTP/2 parser is enabled by default on every bRPC server port and runs before any authenticator check, and bRPC h2/gRPC clients connecting to an untrusted backend are also affected.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-30
Description from the CNA
Uncontrolled resource consumption in the HTTP/2 (h2) receive path of Apache bRPC (version < 1.18.0) on all platforms allows a remote unauthenticated attacker to crash the server or grow its memory without bound by sending crafted HTTP/2 frames. Root Cause: The h2 parser, enabled by default on every bRPC server port and used by h2/gRPC clients, trusts the peer to respect receive-side limits that bRPC advertises but never enforces: 1. SETTINGS_MAX_CONCURRENT_STREAMS defaulted to unlimited and was never checked on the server, letting a peer pin an unbounded number of pending streams per connection (~100x memory amplification). 2. SETTINGS_MAX_HEADER_LIST_SIZE defaulted to unlimited and was never enforced; 1-byte HPACK indexed references amplify a small HEADERS frame ~4000x into an unbounded decoded header list ("HPACK bomb"), and a never-completed HEADERS/CONTINUATION block accumulates memory without limit. 3. Control-frame acks (PING/SETTINGS acks, RST_STREAM, GOAWAY, WINDOW_UPDATE) unconditionally bypassed the -socket_max_unwritten_bytes write cap, so a PING flood combined with withheld TCP reads grew the connection buffer without the documented bound. 4. The HPACK dynamic table size update was validated against the protocol default (4096) instead of the advertised SETTINGS_HEADER_TABLE_SIZE, which together with the dynamic-table queue/accounting issue can desynchronize the decoder and dereference NULL (crash). Affected scenarios: Any bRPC server serving HTTP/h2/gRPC to an untrusted network, and any bRPC h2/gRPC client connecting to an untrusted backend. The h2 parser runs before any Authenticator check on the shared port. How to fix: Upgrade bRPC, or apply the patch in https://github.com/apache/brpc/pull/3474. Note: After applying the fix the following limits are enforced by default: - max_concurrent_streams: 1024 per connection (4294967295 restores unlimited). - max_header_list_size: 1 MiB decoded size per stream (4294967295 restores unlimited; -h2_client_max_header_list_size for clients). - h2 control-frame acks respect -socket_max_unwritten_bytes (-h2_ack_ignore_eovercrowded restores the old behavior). Requests exceeding these limits are rejected (RST_STREAM(REFUSED_STREAM) or a connection error).
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- 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
Remediation
Upgrade Apache bRPC to 1.18.0, or apply the patch from pull request 3474 in the Apache bRPC GitHub repository. After the fix, the stream and header list limits are enforced by default, and requests that exceed them are rejected.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-30
- Fix · CNA Apache bRPC (Apache Software Foundation) Fixed in 1.18.0
Fixed in the same release
Records fixed by the same vendor advisory or release, as the CNA lists them.
- Advisory ·
Apache bRPC — lists.apache.org/thread/2pf15ojj0vr7rtx95677kgtl1mx3gdgb
35 records Highest priority Priority MEDIUM 18 MEDIUM, 17 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2026-78552 Out-of-bounds write in Apache bRPC Redis command parserPriority MEDIUM 49
- TI-2026-78757 Authentication bypass in Apache bRPC servers using internal_portPriority MEDIUM 48
- TI-2026-78742 Missing authentication in Apache bRPC streaming RPC framesPriority MEDIUM 48
Timeline
- 2026-10-21 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-78058
- 2026-10-21 Alias added: GHSA-cvqv-jpx4-mgc8
- 2026-10-30 CVSS score added · CISA ADP
- 2026-10-30 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-10-31 EPSS moved to the 50th–90th percentile
- 2026-11-01 Priority changed: LOW → MEDIUM
References
More Apache vulnerabilities
- TI-2025-18529 Apache Tomcat: Potential RCE and/or information disclosure and/or information corruption with partial PUT KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 10.0
- TI-2024-30292 Apache OFBiz: Confused controller-view authorization logic (forced browsing) KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2024-26062 Apache OFBiz: Unauthenticated endpoint could allow execution of screen rendering code KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2024-21190 Apache OFBiz: Path traversal leading to RCE KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2024-18186 Apache HugeGraph-Server: Command execution in gremlin KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2023-25106 Deserialization of untrusted data in Apache ActiveMQ KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 10.0
Sources
- CVE-2026-78058 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-78058 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-cvqv-jpx4-mgc8 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
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