Quadratic work in Bandit HTTP/2 lets attackers exhaust server CPU
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- None
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-407.
Summary
Bandit, an Elixir HTTP server by mtrudel, from 0.3.4 before 1.14.0 has an inefficient algorithmic complexity flaw (CWE-407) in its HTTP/2 implementation. An unauthenticated remote attacker can open thousands of streams whose responses block on the connection send window, then send small SETTINGS or connection-level WINDOW_UPDATE frames that force the server to repeatedly walk the queue of blocked sends. Each frame costs quadratic work in the number of blocked streams, which exhausts server CPU.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
Description from the CNA
Inefficient Algorithmic Complexity vulnerability in the HTTP/2 implementation of mtrudel bandit allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to exhaust server CPU via small SETTINGS or connection-level WINDOW_UPDATE frames. The attacker opens thousands of streams whose responses block on the connection send window, then sends cheap frames that each make the server walk the whole queue of blocked sends. In the reporter's run, with 3,000 blocked streams a single 9-byte SETTINGS frame took 133 ms to process. do_pending_sends/2 in lib/bandit/http2/connection.ex retries every queued send and, before each retry, removes that entry from the queue with List.delete/2, so one frame costs O(n²) list operations for n blocked streams. max_concurrent_streams defaults to :infinity, so the attacker chooses n. This issue affects bandit: from 0.3.4 before 1.14.0.
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 bandit to version 1.14.0 or later. The sources list no fixed version for other affected releases. CVSS 4.0 base score 8.7 HIGH.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
- Fix · CNA bandit (mtrudel) Fixed in 1.14.0
Fixed in the same release
Records fixed by the same vendor advisory or release, as the CNA lists them.
- Release ·
mtrudel bandit 1.14.0, 220b9dfd27f9a21305be2afc75cbe585ddc24e7a
11 records Highest priority Priority MEDIUM 10 MEDIUM, 1 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2026-80361 Bandit frames still reach WebSock after server-initiated closePriority MEDIUM 61
- TI-2026-80382 HTTP/2 frames let clients hold Bandit request body reads openPriority MEDIUM 45
- TI-2026-80371 WebSocket 1-byte continuation frames exhaust memory in BanditPriority MEDIUM 45
Timeline
- 2026-10-26 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-108529
- 2026-10-26 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
More mtrudel vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-81989 HTTP/2 request bodies made of 1-byte DATA frames amplify memory use in Bandit CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-74311 Bandit HTTP/2 send timers reset, letting trickles pin stream processes CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-52571 HTTP/2 connection-window starvation pins Plug processes indefinitely in Bandit CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-46780 Quadratic CPU blow-up reassembling fragmented WebSocket messages in Bandit CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-31007 WebSocket fragmented message reassembly unbounded in bandit CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-28689 HTTP/1 chunked decoder infinite loop on requests with trailer fields in bandit CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
Sources
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences