dbcve.org
ProtobufjsApplication · Protobufjs Project

CVE-2026-48712

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-06-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.6.1 / 8.4.1 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
protobufjs compiles protobuf definitions into JavaScript (JS) functions. Prior to 7.6.1 and 8.4.1, protobufjs could recurse without a depth limit while converting decoded messages to plain objects or JSON. This affected generated toObject() conversion and the custom google.protobuf.Any JSON conversion path. A crafted protobuf binary payload containing deeply nested Any values could cause the JavaScript call stack to be exhausted during conversion to JSON. This vulnerability is fixed in 7.6.1 and 8.4.1.

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 lacks depth limiting on recursive conversion functions when transforming decoded protobuf messages to plain objects or JSON. Specifically, the toObject() method and google.protobuf.Any JSON conversion path can be triggered into unbounded recursion by specially crafted binary payloads containing deeply nested Any values, causing stack exhaustion.

MitigationUpgrade protobufjs to version 7.6.1 or 8.4.1 or later to receive the patch that adds depth limiting to recursive conversion operations.

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:< 7.6.1>= 8.0.0, < 8.4.1

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 protobufjs version
    Run 'npm list protobufjs' or check the version field in package.json
    Affected if The installed version is less than 7.6.1, or is 8.0.0 through 8.4.0 inclusive
  2. Locate toObject() usage
    Search codebase for '.toObject()' method calls on protobuf message objects, especially in data processing paths
    Affected if Codebase uses toObject() to convert protobuf messages to plain objects or JSON from untrusted binary input
  3. Check for google.protobuf.Any usage
    Search for imports or references to 'google.protobuf.Any' or typeUrl/Any in the codebase
    Affected if The application deserializes or processes google.protobuf.Any typed messages from external sources
  4. Identify incoming protobuf data paths
    Review API endpoints or data ingestion code that parses binary protobuf payloads
    Affected if The application accepts and decodes protobuf binary data from untrusted or network sources without additional validation on nesting depth

A user is affected if they run a protobufjs version in the vulnerable range AND process untrusted deeply-nested protobuf Any messages through toObject() or JSON conversion paths.

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 7.6.1 / 8.4.1 or later
Fixed in 7.6.18.4.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade protobufjs to version 7.6.1 or 8.4.1 or later to receive the patch that adds depth limiting to recursive conversion operations.

Recommended fix High confidence

protobufjs 7.6.1 (for 7.x users) or protobufjs 8.4.1 (for 8.x users)

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed protobufjs version by checking package.json or running `npm list protobufjs`
  2. 2. If using protobufjs version 7.x (version < 7.6.1): Run `npm install [email protected]` to upgrade to the fixed version
  3. 3. If using protobufjs version 8.x (version >= 8.0.0 and < 8.4.1): Run `npm install [email protected]` to upgrade to the fixed version
  4. 4. After upgrading, verify the installation by running `npm list protobufjs` to confirm the correct version is installed
  5. 5. Test your application to ensure the upgrade does not break existing functionality
Caveat Review release notes for 7.6.1 and 8.4.1 for any breaking changes; minor version upgrades typically have minimal compatibility impact but test thoroughly

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

Fix this in Protobufjs Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,480
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,968.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-48712 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2026-48712 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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