adm-zip: Unhandled error event in async DEFLATE decompression crashes Node.js process (DoS)

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-2026-114102: 0.46% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 39.55 (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 Denial of Service in adm-zip's async decompression API allows an unauthenticated attacker to crash the entire Node.js host process by supplying a single malformed ZIP file. Details Affected package: adm-zip Affected versions: at least 0.6.0 (current latest); likely all versions containing the current inflateAsync implementation in methods/inflater.js Patched version: 0.6.1 Root Cause methods/inflater.js:12-32 (inflateAsync) creates a zlib.createInflateRaw(option) stream and feeds it attacker-controlled compressed bytes via tmp.end(inbuf), but never registers an "error" listener on the stream: Per Node.js EventEmitter/stream semantics, an "error" event emitted with zero listeners is rethrown as an uncaught exception on a later tick, originating from the zlib C++ binding. This cannot be caught by a try/catch wrapped around the calling code, because the throw happens asynchronously, outside the synchronous call stack the try/catch covers. This code path is reached from every…

Published by the source

29 Sep 2026, 23:10 UTC

Last modified by the source

21 Oct 2026, 10:57 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 13:06 UTC

1. Revision 3 · amended · 26 Oct 2026

   Amended from ghsa record GHSA-8238-w5pm-2374

2. Revision 2 · amended · 24 Oct 2026

   Amended from osv record GHSA-8238-w5pm-2374

3. Revision 1 · created · 23 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-8238-w5pm-2374

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-114102

Advisory: adm-zip: Unhandled error event in async DEFLATE decompression crashes Node.js process (DoS)
IDs: CVE-2026-114102, GHSA-8238-w5pm-2374
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/ghsa-8238-w5pm-2374 (revision 3, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 13:06 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: adm-zip 0.6.1. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- npm adm-zip: affected <= 0.6.0; fixed in 0.6.1

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- `npm ls adm-zip --all`: lists every installed copy and version, including transitive ones. Run in the project root after `npm ci`.

## 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 adm-zip.
- 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-8238-w5pm-2374 (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-8238-w5pm-2374 lists affected ranges: npm adm-zip >=0 <=0.6.0)
- Verified: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-8238-w5pm-2374 (OSV record GHSA-8238-w5pm-2374 lists affected ranges: npm adm-zip >=0 <0.6.1 (fixed))

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