NettyApplication

CVE-2026-48006

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-06-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.1.135 / 4.2.15 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Netty is a network application framework for development of protocol servers and clients. Prior to versions 4.1.135.Final and 4.2.15.Final, the RedisArrayAggregator handler permanently leaks pooled direct-memory buffers when a Redis pipeline connection closes before a RESP array aggregate completes. The handler retains child messages in per-handler state (`depths` field) but defines no `channelInactive`, `handlerRemoved`, or `exceptionCaught` method to release them when the pipeline tears down. Because the leaked buffers are slices of `PooledByteBufAllocator` chunks, they prevent those chunks from being returned to the JVM-wide direct-memory pool. Repeated connection churn by any network peer monotonically drains this shared pool, eventually causing allocation failures on all Netty channels in the process. Versions 4.1.135.Final and 4.2.15.Final patch the issue.

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

Netty's RedisArrayAggregator handler permanently leaks pooled direct-memory buffers when Redis pipeline connections close before RESP array aggregation completes. The handler retains child messages in a `depths` field but lacks cleanup methods (channelInactive, handlerRemoved, exceptionCaught) to release buffers during pipeline teardown. These leaked buffers are PooledByteBufAllocator slices that prevent chunk recycling, causing gradual exhaustion of the JVM-wide direct-memory pool and eventual allocation failures across all Netty channels.

MitigationUpgrade Netty to version 4.1.135.Final or 4.2.15.Final which contain the patch adding proper buffer release lifecycle methods to RedisArrayAggregator.

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
NettyApplication
Affected:< 4.1.135>= 4.2.0, < 4.2.15

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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify the Netty version in use
    Locate the netty-common or core jar file in your classpath or dependencies (e.g., Maven pom.xml, Gradle build.gradle, or the actual jar filename) and note the version number
    Affected if The version is less than 4.1.135, or is 4.2.0 through 4.2.14 inclusive
  2. Confirm RedisArrayAggregator is in the channel pipeline
    Search your codebase for pipeline configuration code that adds RedisArrayAggregator (e.g., pipeline.addLast("aggregator", new RedisArrayAggregator()) or similar pipeline builder patterns)
    Affected if RedisArrayAggregator is added to a ChannelPipeline and the Netty version is in the affected range
  3. Verify Redis pipelining is exposed to network peers
    Inspect your Redis client/server configuration to determine if Redis connections using pipelining are accessible over the network (not localhost-only or firewall-protected)
    Affected if Untrusted network peers can initiate Redis connections that use pipelining with the vulnerable handler in the pipeline
  4. Check for direct memory leak symptoms
    Monitor JVM direct memory usage (e.g., via -XX:NativeMemoryTracking=summary and jcmd VM.native_memory summary, or Netty's PooledByteBufAllocator metrics) for unexplained growth after Redis pipeline connections are closed prematurely
    Affected if Direct memory continues to grow and is not reclaimed after Redis pipeline connections terminate unexpectedly

You are affected if your Netty version falls in the vulnerable ranges AND RedisArrayAggregator is actively used in a pipeline exposed to network peers where connections may close before aggregation completes.

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 4.1.135 / 4.2.15 or later
Fixed in 4.1.1354.2.15
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Netty to version 4.1.135.Final or 4.2.15.Final which contain the patch adding proper buffer release lifecycle methods to RedisArrayAggregator.

Recommended fix High confidence

4.1.135.Final (for 4.1.x users) or 4.2.15.Final (for 4.2.x users)

  1. Identify the current Netty version in use (e.g., check pom.xml, build.gradle, or dependency management)
  2. If using Netty 4.1.x branch, upgrade to version 4.1.135.Final or later
  3. If using Netty 4.2.x branch, upgrade to version 4.2.15.Final or later
  4. Rebuild and redeploy the application
  5. Monitor for memory stability after deployment

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

Fix this in Netty Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2026-48006 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data