CVE-2026-69220
highpriority · track · 0EPSS 0.007 · 54 %ileUSEPSS · scored 2026-10-27
The RabbitMQ Java client library allows Java and JVM-based applications to connect to and interact with RabbitMQ nodes. Prior to 5.33.1, src/main/java/com/rabbitmq/client/impl/ValueReader.java permits ValueReader.readTable and ValueReader.readArray to call ValueReader.readFieldValue recursively for AMQP table type F and AMQP array type A values without a nesting-depth limit. A malicious AMQP server or network intermediary can send approximately 580 nested table levels in the pre-authentication connection.start frame, fitting within the default 131072-byte frame maximum, to trigger StackOverflowError. The error terminates the client input processing thread and causes denial of service. This issue is fixed in version 5.33.1.
cvss
Technical severity, 0–10. One row per scoring source.
base score 0–10 · higher = more severe · hover a vector to decode⚠ sources disagree · medium–high · 6.6–8.7
weaknesses
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affected products (1)
Products and version ranges known to be affected.
advisories (1)
Vendor and ecosystem advisories describing this.
- GHSA-93j5-89vc-pph4RabbitMQ Java client ValueReader: Unbounded recursive table/array nesting causes StackOverflowError DoS2026-08-18ghsa · osvUS
## Summary `ValueReader.readTable()` and `readArray()` recursively call `readFieldValue()` with no depth limit. A malicious AMQP peer can crash the client JVM by sending a deeply nested table structure. ## Vulnerable Code `src/main/java/com/rabbitmq/client/impl/ValueReader.java` lines 139-155 and 237-249: ```java private static Map<String, Object> readTable(DataInputStream in) throws IOException { long tableLength = unsignedExtend(in.readInt()); // ... while(tableIn.available() > 0) { String name = readShortstr(tableIn); Object value = readFieldValue(tableIn); // recursive call } } static Object readFieldValue(DataInputStream in) throws IOException { switch(in.readUnsignedByte()) { case 'F': value = readTable(in); // mutual recursion case 'A': value = readArray(in); // mutual recursion } } ``` ## Attack Scenario A malicious AMQP server (or MitM) sends a `connection.start` frame with ~580 levels of nested tables. Each level costs ~7 bytes (4-byte length + 1-byte key length + 1-byte key + 1-byte type tag), totaling ~4060 bytes within the 131,072 byte max frame size. With the default JVM stack (~512KB, ~864 bytes/frame), this triggers `StackOverflowError`, killing the I/O thread. Exploitable pre-authentication since `connection.start` is the very first server frame. ## Impact Denial of service. `StackOverflowError` kills the client I/O thread. ## CWE CWE-674: Uncontrolled Recursion ## Remediation Add a depth counter to `readTable`/`readArray`/`readFieldValue` and throw `MalformedFrameException` when exceeding a threshold (e.g., 32).
sources
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references (6) nvd
External citations — patches, advisories, analysis.
- https://github.com/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-java-client/commit/09af76fce136f3136931654a0a1d43095c80e2f0
- https://github.com/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-java-client/commit/db89e34809fbc6ba4e946615f297f3684ccd0acc
- https://github.com/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-java-client/pull/2007
- https://github.com/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-java-client/pull/2008
- https://github.com/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-java-client/releases/tag/v5.33.1
- https://github.com/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-java-client/security/advisories/GHSA-93j5-89vc-pph4
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