CVE-2026-44288
Published:May 13, 2026
Updated:May 16, 2026
protobufjs compiles protobuf definitions into JavaScript (JS) functions. Prior to 7.5.6 and 8.0.2, protobufjs includes a minimal UTF-8 decoder that accepted overlong UTF-8 byte sequences and decoded them to their canonical characters instead of replacing them. An attacker who can provide protobuf binary data decoded through the affected UTF-8 path may be able to bypass application-level checks that inspect raw bytes before protobuf string decoding. For example, bytes that do not contain certain ASCII characters could decode to strings containing those characters. This vulnerability is fixed in 7.5.6 and 8.0.2.
Affected Packages
protobufjs (CDN_JS):
Affected version(s) >=6.10.3 <7.5.6Fix Suggestion:
Update to version 7.5.6protobufjs (CDN_JS):
Affected version(s) =8.0.0-experimental <8.0.2Fix Suggestion:
Update to version 8.0.2https://github.com/protobufjs/protobuf.js.git (GITHUB):
Affected version(s) >=protobufjs-v8.0.0 <protobufjs-v8.0.2Fix Suggestion:
Update to version protobufjs-v8.0.2https://github.com/protobufjs/protobuf.js.git (GITHUB):
Affected version(s) >=protobufjs-v7.0.0 <protobufjs-v7.5.6Fix Suggestion:
Update to version protobufjs-v7.5.6@protobufjs/utf8 (NPM):
Affected version(s) >=1.0.0 <1.1.1Fix Suggestion:
Update to version 1.1.1protobufjs (NPM):
Affected version(s) >=8.0.0 <8.0.2Fix Suggestion:
Update to version 8.0.2protobufjs (NPM):
Affected version(s) >=0.0.0 <7.5.6Fix Suggestion:
Update to version 7.5.6protobufjs (NPM):
Affected version(s) >=8.0.0 <8.0.2Fix Suggestion:
Update to version 8.0.2@protobufjs/utf8 (NPM):
Affected version(s) >=1.0.0 <1.1.1Fix Suggestion:
Update to version 1.1.1Related Resources (5)
Do you need more information?
Contact UsCVSS v4
Base Score:
6.9
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Attack Complexity
LOW
Attack Requirements
NONE
Privileges Required
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Vulnerable System Confidentiality
NONE
Vulnerable System Integrity
LOW
Vulnerable System Availability
NONE
Subsequent System Confidentiality
NONE
Subsequent System Integrity
NONE
Subsequent System Availability
NONE
CVSS v3
Base Score:
5.3
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Attack Complexity
LOW
Privileges Required
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
LOW
Availability
NONE
Weakness Type (CWE)
Improper Handling of Unicode Encoding
EPSS
Base Score:
0.03