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ProtobufjsApplication · Protobufjs Project

CVE-2026-44288

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.5.6 / 8.0.2 or later.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
protobufjs compiles protobuf definitions into JavaScript (JS) functions. Prior to 7.5.6 and 8.0.2, protobufjs includes a minimal UTF-8 decoder that accepted overlong UTF-8 byte sequences and decoded them to their canonical characters instead of replacing them. An attacker who can provide protobuf binary data decoded through the affected UTF-8 path may be able to bypass application-level checks that inspect raw bytes before protobuf string decoding. For example, bytes that do not contain certain ASCII characters could decode to strings containing those characters. This vulnerability is fixed in 7.5.6 and 8.0.2.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

protobufjs contains a vulnerable minimal UTF-8 decoder that accepts overlong UTF-8 byte sequences and decodes them to their canonical characters rather than rejecting them. An attacker providing malicious protobuf binary data can bypass application-level checks that inspect raw bytes before string decoding, as bytes lacking certain ASCII characters can decode to strings containing those characters.

MitigationUpgrade protobufjs to version 7.5.6 or 8.0.2 to obtain the fixed UTF-8 decoder that properly rejects overlong sequences.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
ProtobufjsApplication
Affected:< 7.5.6>= 8.0.0, < 8.0.2

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

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

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Find installed protobufjs version
    Run 'npm list protobufjs' or check package.json dependencies, or run 'node -e "console.log(require('protobufjs/package.json').version)"'
    Affected if version is below 7.5.6, or is 8.0.0 or 8.0.1
  2. Verify protobufjs is loaded in runtime
    Check if the application imports or requires protobufjs (for example: require('protobufjs') or import from 'protobufjs')
    Affected if protobufjs is imported and used to decode protobuf messages
  3. Confirm protobuf binary decoding is performed
    Look for code paths that call decode(), parse(), or read methods on protobuf Root/Service/Type objects to deserialize binary data
    Affected if the application decodes protobuf binary data using protobufjs
  4. Identify if custom UTF-8 decoding is in use
    Search codebase for direct usage of TextDecoder or custom UTF-8 decoding logic that processes protobuf bytes before protobufjs decode()
    Affected if raw bytes are inspected by application logic before protobufjs decoding, and the vulnerable decoder could cause bypass

You are affected if protobufjs version is less than 7.5.6 or between 8.0.0 and 8.0.1 inclusive, AND your application uses protobufjs to decode binary protobuf data.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 7.5.6 / 8.0.2 or later
Fixed in 7.5.68.0.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade protobufjs to version 7.5.6 or 8.0.2 to obtain the fixed UTF-8 decoder that properly rejects overlong sequences.

Recommended fix High confidence

protobufjs 7.5.6 or 8.0.2 (or later)

  1. Check the current version of protobufjs in use (e.g., run `npm list protobufjs` or inspect package.json)
  2. If using protobufjs 7.x: upgrade to version 7.5.6 or later by running `npm install protobufjs@^7.5.6`
  3. If using protobufjs 8.x: upgrade to version 8.0.2 or later by running `npm install protobufjs@^8.0.2`
  4. Verify the upgrade was successful by running `npm list protobufjs`
  5. Re-run any tests to ensure the upgrade does not break existing functionality

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Protobufjs Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,380
Get the upgrade done

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-44288 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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