Bandit HTTP/2 applies uncapped client-chosen HPACK table size
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-770.
Summary
Bandit, an HTTP server for Elixir from mtrudel, is affected from 0.3.6 before 1.14.0. Its HTTP/2 implementation applies the header table size the client advertises in SETTINGS without any server-side cap, so the HPACK encoder table grows with each response on a connection (CWE-770). An unauthenticated remote attacker can make the server consume memory and CPU without bound by sending a large SETTINGS_HEADER_TABLE_SIZE and then sending many requests on one connection.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
Description from the CNA
Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling vulnerability in the HTTP/2 implementation of mtrudel bandit allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to grow per-connection memory and CPU cost without bound via a large SETTINGS_HEADER_TABLE_SIZE. Bandit resizes its HPACK encoder table to whatever size the client advertises, up to 2^32-1 bytes, and indexes response headers into it. Because responses carry distinct values such as date or content-length, nothing is evicted and the table grows with every response for the life of the connection, while each lookup scans it linearly. The SETTINGS handling in Bandit.HTTP2.Connection (lib/bandit/http2/connection.ex) passes remote_settings.header_table_size to HPAX.resize/2 with no server-side cap, and encode_headers encodes every response header as :store. Serving N responses on one connection therefore costs O(N²) CPU in the connection process. This issue affects bandit: from 0.3.6 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, which is the fixed version.
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-2026-110499
- 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