Symfony YAML parser inefficient parsing enables denial of service
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-1333.
Summary
Symfony's Yaml component parses some documents inefficiently, repeating work so that parse time grows exponentially or quadratically with input size (CWE-407). An unauthenticated remote attacker can send a small crafted YAML document that keeps a PHP process busy for seconds or minutes, causing a denial of service. Symfony versions prior to 5.4.56, 6.x prior to 6.4.50, 7.x prior to 7.4.23 and 8.x prior to 8.1.11 are affected.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
Description from the CNA
The Symfony Yaml components Inline and Parser, parse some YAML documents inefficiently, so that a small crafted document can take disproportionately long to process, keeping a PHP process busy for seconds or minutes, potentially causing a denial of service in Symfony versions prior to 5.4.56, 6.x prior to 6.4.50, 7.x prior to 7.4.23, and 8.x prior to 8.1.11. The parser repeats work it has already done in several places. An embedded mapping in a flow sequence is parsed again for every scalar appended to it, and so are the collections nested in it, so the parse time grows exponentially with the nesting depth. The patterns matching mapping keys and tags scan a run of spaces once per character of the run, and each scalar of a flow collection is matched against a copy of the rest of the collection, so the parse time grows quadratically with the size of the input. Nested blocks are also copied at each nesting level, which consumes memory as well as time. A few other constructs, such as an empty sequence item followed by a blank line or an anchor named 0, trigger similar repeated work. Any code parsing untrusted YAML is affected, with the default flags. In Symfony 7.4 and later, that includes #[MapRequestPayload] when the Yaml component is installed and the endpoint does not restrict acceptFormat. A single unauthenticated request with a YAML content type keeps a PHP worker busy until max_execution_time. JSON documents are valid YAML, so a JSON payload sent with a YAML content type is enough for the flow collection case. In Symfony 6.4, #[MapRequestPayload] accepts YAML only when the application registers a yaml request format.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
No affected products listed by the sources yet.
Remediation
Upgrade Symfony to 5.4.56, 6.4.50, 7.4.23 or 8.1.11, using the fixed version for the branch in use.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
Fixed in the same release
Records fixed by the same vendor advisory or release, as the CNA lists them.
- Release ·
sensiolabs symfony 5.4.56, 6.4.50 and 2 more versions
6 records Highest priority Priority LOW 6 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2026-85989 Symfony Serializer lets clients turn server files into uploadsPriority LOW 37
- TI-2026-85987 Symfony DataUriNormalizer reads local files from uppercase data URIsPriority LOW 36
- TI-2026-86046 XML external entity injection in Symfony Config componentPriority LOW 12
Timeline
- 2026-11-06 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-123792
- 2026-11-08 Priority changed: MEDIUM → LOW
References
Patch 3
More sensiolabs vulnerabilities
- TI-2019-13616 An issue was discovered in Symfony 3.4.0 through 3.4.34, 4.2.0 through 4.2.11, and 4.3.0… CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2018-10604 An issue was discovered in Http Foundation in Symfony 2.7.0 through 2.7.48, 2.8.0 through… CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.5
- TI-2019-08131 In Symfony before 2.7.51, 2.8.x before 2.8.50, 3.x before 3.4.26, 4.x before 4.1.12, and… CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2016-02159 Symfony before 2.8.6 and 3.x before 3.0.6 allows remote attackers to bypass… CVSS 3.0CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2019-08459 An issue was discovered in Symfony before 4.2.12 and 4.3.x before 4.3.8. CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2018-08136 An issue was discovered in the Ldap component in Symfony 2.8.x before 2.8.37, 3.3.x… CVSS 3.0CRITICAL 9.8
Sources
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences