8.7
HIGH CVSS 4.0
CVE-2026-100661
Netty HTTP/3 QPACK Prefixed Integer DoS via Unbounded Accumulation
Description

Netty's HTTP/3 codec (io.netty:netty-codec-http3) versions 4.2.0.Final through 4.2.17.Final contain a denial-of-service vulnerability in the QPACK prefixed-integer decoder (QpackUtil.decodePrefixedInteger), which does not bound the number of continuation bytes it will process. A remote, unauthenticated peer can open a QPACK unidirectional stream (type 0x02 encoder or 0x03 decoder) and send a first byte with all prefix bits set (e.g. 0xFF for a 7-bit prefix or 0x3F for a 5-bit prefix) followed by an endless run of 0x80 continuation bytes. The decoder returns -1 ('need more bytes'), so callers never consume the input, the ByteToMessageDecoder cumulator grows without bound, and each decode() invocation re-scans the whole accumulated buffer, yielding O(N^2) CPU cost. The result is unbounded per-connection heap growth (OutOfMemoryError) and event-loop CPU starvation, reachable in every configuration. Fixed in 4.2.18.Final.

INFO

Published Date :

Sept. 26, 2026, 2:16 p.m.

Last Modified :

Sept. 26, 2026, 2:16 p.m.

Remotely Exploit :

Yes !
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2026-100661 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

No affected product recoded yet

CVSS Scores
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardized framework for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems. We collect and displays CVSS scores from various sources for each CVE.
Score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Score Impact Score Source
CVSS 3.1 HIGH 83251b91-4cc7-4094-a5c7-464a1b83ea10
CVSS 3.1 HIGH MITRE-CVE
CVSS 3.1 HIGH [email protected]
CVSS 4.0 HIGH 83251b91-4cc7-4094-a5c7-464a1b83ea10
CVSS 4.0 HIGH [email protected]
Solution
Update Netty's HTTP/3 codec to the fixed version to prevent unbounded heap growth and CPU starvation.
  • Update Netty's HTTP/3 codec to version 4.2.18.Final or later.
  • Apply security patches provided by the vendor.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to CVE-2026-100661.

URL Resource
https://github.com/netty/netty/security/advisories/GHSA-v5p2-hmgx-3xrx
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/netty-http-3-qpack-prefixed-integer-dos-via-unbounded-accumulation
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-100661 is associated with the following CWEs:

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-100661 weaknesses.

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2026-100661 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2026-100661 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • New CVE Received by [email protected]

    Sep. 26, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Description Netty's HTTP/3 codec (io.netty:netty-codec-http3) versions 4.2.0.Final through 4.2.17.Final contain a denial-of-service vulnerability in the QPACK prefixed-integer decoder (QpackUtil.decodePrefixedInteger), which does not bound the number of continuation bytes it will process. A remote, unauthenticated peer can open a QPACK unidirectional stream (type 0x02 encoder or 0x03 decoder) and send a first byte with all prefix bits set (e.g. 0xFF for a 7-bit prefix or 0x3F for a 5-bit prefix) followed by an endless run of 0x80 continuation bytes. The decoder returns -1 ('need more bytes'), so callers never consume the input, the ByteToMessageDecoder cumulator grows without bound, and each decode() invocation re-scans the whole accumulated buffer, yielding O(N^2) CPU cost. The result is unbounded per-connection heap growth (OutOfMemoryError) and event-loop CPU starvation, reachable in every configuration. Fixed in 4.2.18.Final.
    Added CVSS V4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
    Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
    Added CWE CWE-400
    Added Affected New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/100xxx/CVE-2026-100661.json">CVE-2026-100661</a>
    Added Reference https://github.com/netty/netty/security/advisories/GHSA-v5p2-hmgx-3xrx
    Added Reference https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/netty-http-3-qpack-prefixed-integer-dos-via-unbounded-accumulation
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.