undici vulnerable to Denial of Service via unhandled exception in the decompress interceptor
Published
What is affected, what to do
undici is an HTTP client library for Node.js. In versions 7.15.0 through 7.30.0 and 8.0.0 through 8.12.1, its decompress interceptor forwards decompressed response data to the downstream handler from zlib stream event callbacks without catching exceptions those callbacks may throw, and while undici's engine converts a synchronous throw from a downstream handler into a per-request failure, that protection is absent when the throw happens asynchronously from a zlib callback.
The available sources name no fixed version. Check the vendor guidance in the references below.
Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability
Metrics
—
Priority
No value is available for this vulnerability.
—
CVSS v3
No value is available for this vulnerability.
—
EPSS score
No value is available for this vulnerability.
Show all metrics
- Severity
- Not rated
Priority score
The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?
Read in glossary- 30.00
Exploit maturity
An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.
Read in glossary- no public PoC known
KEV status
The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.
Read in glossary- —
- Published
Classification under NIS2 and CRA
Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.
NIS2
NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.
Read in glossary- Handle the vulnerability in regular vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2.
CRA
The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.
Read in glossary- From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
ISO/IEC 27001
ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.
Read in glossary- Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.
Description
undici is an HTTP client library for Node.js. In versions 7.15.0 through 7.30.0 and 8.0.0 through 8.12.1, its decompress interceptor forwards decompressed response data to the downstream handler from zlib stream event callbacks without catching exceptions those callbacks may throw, and while undici's engine converts a synchronous throw from a downstream handler into a per-request failure, that protection is absent when the throw happens asynchronously from a zlib callback. As a result, a downstream handler that throws by design, such as the built-in dump interceptor which throws when a response exceeds its configured maximum size, escapes as an uncaught exception that terminates the Node.js process. A malicious or compromised HTTP server can crash any client that composes the decompress interceptor with such a handler by returning a small compressed body that decompresses to more than the configured limit, so only the decompressed size matters and the bytes on the wire stay tiny. The issue is fixed in undici 7.30.1 and 8.12.2, and users should upgrade to one of those versions or later. As a workaround, avoid composing the decompress interceptor with a response handler that throws during response processing until upgrading.