Netty SPDY SETTINGS frame count materializes unbounded settings map

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

7.5 · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS

• CVE-2026-55831: 0.66% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 51.85 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Summary Netty's SPDY SETTINGS decoder accepts a peer-declared SETTINGS entry count up to the 24-bit frame-length limit and materializes every unique setting ID in DefaultSpdySettingsFrame without an implementation-level count cap. A remote SPDY/3.1 peer can send one syntactically valid roughly 2 MiB SETTINGS frame that creates 262144 map entries, amplifying network input into heap growth and ordered-map insertion work. Details Inbound SPDY bytes enter SpdyFrameCodec.decode() and are passed directly to the frame decoder. The decoder reads the peer-controlled flags and 24-bit frame length from the common header, then accepts SETTINGS frames with only length = 4. For SETTINGS payloads, it reads the peer-controlled numSettings field and validates only that the remaining payload is divisible into 8-byte entries and exactly matches that count. Each accepted entry then supplies an attacker-controlled 24-bit ID and value, and the normal delegate path forwards it into…

Published by the source

22 Jul 2026, 21:07 UTC

Last modified by the source

22 Jul 2026, 21:07 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 16:54 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-6jqx-86gh-f27w

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-55831

Advisory: Netty SPDY SETTINGS frame count materializes unbounded settings map
IDs: CVE-2026-55831, GHSA-6jqx-86gh-f27w
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-55831 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 16:54 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: High (CVSS 7.5)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: io.netty:netty-codec-http 4.2.16.Final, 4.1.136.Final. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Maven io.netty:netty-codec-http: affected >= 4.2.0.Final, <= 4.2.15.Final; >= 4.1.0.Final, <= 4.1.135.Final; fixed in 4.2.16.Final, 4.1.136.Final

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- Maven io.netty:netty-codec-http: check the installed version with your package manager.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on io.netty:netty-codec-http.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-6jqx-86gh-f27w (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-6jqx-86gh-f27w lists affected ranges: Maven io.netty:netty-codec-http >=4.2.0.Final =4.1.0.Final <=4.1.135.Final)

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