CVE-2026-53659
Published:August 18, 2026
Updated:August 27, 2026
"ServerFilters.GZip" and "RequestFilters.GunZip" (and the underlying "Gzip" functions used to decompress request bodies) did not impose any cap on the decompressed size. A small malicious gzip-encoded request body (on the order of kilobytes) could decompress to gigabytes, exhausting the JVM heap and denying service to other clients. Who is affected: any http4k server that accepts gzip-encoded requests via "ServerFilters.GZip" or "RequestFilters.GunZip". Exploitable by any unauthenticated client. The vulnerability was introduced on 2017-08-01 (commit "2618fe08f9") and was present for ~9 years.
Affected Packages
https://github.com/http4k/http4k.git (GITHUB):
Affected version(s) >=6.0.0.0 <6.49.0.0Fix Suggestion:
Update to version 6.49.0.0https://github.com/http4k/http4k.git (GITHUB):
Affected version(s) >=5.0.0.0 <5.42.0.0Fix Suggestion:
Update to version 5.42.0.0org.http4k:http4k-core (JAVA):
Affected version(s) >=6.0.0.0 <6.49.0.0Fix Suggestion:
Update to version 6.49.0.0org.http4k:http4k-core (JAVA):
Affected version(s) >=5.0.0.0 <5.42.0.0Fix Suggestion:
Update to version 5.42.0.0Related Resources (3)
Do you need more information?
Contact UsCVSS v4
Base Score:
8.7
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Attack Complexity
LOW
Attack Requirements
NONE
Privileges Required
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Vulnerable System Confidentiality
NONE
Vulnerable System Integrity
NONE
Vulnerable System Availability
HIGH
Subsequent System Confidentiality
NONE
Subsequent System Integrity
NONE
Subsequent System Availability
NONE
CVSS v3
Base Score:
7.5
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Attack Complexity
LOW
Privileges Required
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
NONE
Availability
HIGH
Weakness Type (CWE)
Improper Handling of Highly Compressed Data (Data Amplification)