CVE-2026-44289
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 · uneditedprotobufjs compiles protobuf definitions into JavaScript (JS) functions. Prior to 7.5.6 and 8.0.2, protobufjs could recurse without a depth limit while decoding nested protobuf data. This affected both skipping unknown group fields and generated decoding of nested message fields. A crafted protobuf binary payload could cause the JavaScript call stack to be exhausted during decoding. This vulnerability is fixed in 7.5.6 and 8.0.2.
In the news
Third-party coverageSurfaced from public web coverage — external links open in a new tab.
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 confidenceprotobufjs before versions 7.5.6 and 8.0.2 lacks depth limits during recursive decoding of nested protobuf messages, allowing a crafted binary payload to exhaust the JavaScript call stack and cause denial of service.
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< 7.5.6>= 8.0.0, < 8.0.2CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify protobufjs versionRun 'npm list protobufjs' in your project directory, or check the 'dependencies' or 'devDependencies' section of your package.json fileAffected if The version listed is below 7.5.6, or is 8.0.0 or 8.0.1
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Check if protobuf decoding is usedSearch your codebase for imports of protobufjs (e.g., 'protobufjs', '@protobufjs') and usage of methods like 'load', 'loadSync', 'Root.fromJSON', or any 'decode' method on message typesAffected if Your application decodes protobuf messages from external or untrusted sources using protobufjs
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Identify data source for decodingReview where decoded protobuf data originates - check if it comes from network requests, files, user input, or other external sources that are not fully trustedAffected if Untrusted or attacker-controlled binary protobuf payloads can be passed to protobufjs decode functions
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Confirm depth protection statusThere is no built-in runtime check for depth limits in vulnerable versions - you must rely on version comparison in step 1Affected if You are running a vulnerable version AND processing untrusted nested protobuf messages
You are affected if your environment has protobufjs version below 7.5.6 or between 8.0.0 and 8.0.1 AND your application uses protobufjs to decode protobuf messages from untrusted or external sources.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped7.5.68.0.2
Upgrade protobufjs to version 7.5.6 or 8.0.2 or later to patch the unbounded recursion vulnerability.
protobufjs 7.5.6 or 8.0.2 (depending on which major version line is currently in use)
- Identify current protobufjs version by checking package.json or running npm list protobufjs
- If using protobufjs 7.x (version < 7.5.6), upgrade to version 7.5.6: npm install protobufjs@^7.5.6
- If using protobufjs 8.x (version >= 8.0.0 and < 8.0.2), upgrade to version 8.0.2: npm install protobufjs@^8.0.2
- Verify the upgrade was successful: npm list protobufjs
- Test the application in a non-production environment to ensure decoding functionality works correctly
- Deploy the updated version to production
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-44289 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-44289 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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