CVE-2026-55851
Netty codec-haproxy: Signed-Byte Sentinel Collision in HAProxyMessageDecoder Leads to Unbounded Memory Exhaustion
Description
Netty is a network application framework for development of protocol servers and clients. In versions 4.2.0.Final up to (but not including) 4.2.16.Final, and 4.1.0.Final up to (but not including) 4.1.135, the `HAProxyMessageDecoder` in Netty's `codec-haproxy` module performs protocol version detection by reading the 13th byte as a signed Java `byte` and widening it to `int` without masking; a PROXY protocol v2 binary prefix followed by version byte `0xFF` sign-extends to `-1`, collides with the decoder's need-more-data sentinel, and causes `ByteToMessageDecoder` to accumulate inbound bytes in an unbounded `cumulation` buffer until direct memory is exhausted. This issue is fixed in versions 4.1.136.Final and 4.2.16.Final.
INFO
Published Date :
July 21, 2026, 10:17 p.m.
Last Modified :
July 23, 2026, 3:17 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
Yes !
Source :
[email protected]
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS | 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 | |||||
| CVSS 4.0 | HIGH | [email protected] |
Solution
- Update Netty to 4.1.136.Final or later.
- Update Netty to 4.2.16.Final or later.
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-2026-55851.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-55851 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-2026-55851
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-2026-55851 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-55851 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.
-
CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Jul. 23, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added SSVC {'id': 'CVE-2026-55851', 'role': 'CISA Coordinator', 'options': [{'exploitation': 'none'}, {'automatable': 'yes'}, {'technicalImpact': 'partial'}], 'version': '2.0.3', 'timestamp': '2026-07-23T14:04:36.269979Z'} -
New CVE Received by [email protected]
Jul. 21, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Affected [{'vendor': 'netty', 'product': 'netty', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '>= 4.2.0.Final, < 4.2.16.Final'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '>= 4.1.0.Final, < 4.1.136.Final'}]}] Added Description Netty is a network application framework for development of protocol servers and clients. In versions 4.2.0.Final up to (but not including) 4.2.16.Final, and 4.1.0.Final up to (but not including) 4.1.135, the `HAProxyMessageDecoder` in Netty's `codec-haproxy` module performs protocol version detection by reading the 13th byte as a signed Java `byte` and widening it to `int` without masking; a PROXY protocol v2 binary prefix followed by version byte `0xFF` sign-extends to `-1`, collides with the decoder's need-more-data sentinel, and causes `ByteToMessageDecoder` to accumulate inbound bytes in an unbounded `cumulation` buffer until direct memory is exhausted. This issue is fixed in versions 4.1.136.Final and 4.2.16.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 CWE CWE-400 Added Reference https://github.com/netty/netty/commit/5b68c61f37aa4a3045cba624cbea239655c9003b Added Reference https://github.com/netty/netty/commit/bb2ff68a1fb71cb4b0eb9a9e17b66c52aff680c6 Added Reference https://github.com/netty/netty/releases/tag/netty-4.1.136.Final Added Reference https://github.com/netty/netty/releases/tag/netty-4.2.16.Final Added Reference https://github.com/netty/netty/security/advisories/GHSA-q6cq-mhr2-jmr5