A malformed HTTP/2 HEADERS frame with oversized, invalid HPACK data can cause Node.js to crash by triggering an unhandled TLSSocket error ECONNRESET. Instead of safely closing the connection, the process crashes, enabling a remote denial of service. This primarily affects applications that do not attach explicit error handlers to secure sockets, for example:
| |
The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.
| Name | Vendor | Start Version | End Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Node.js | Nodejs | 20.0.0 (including) | 20.20.0 (excluding) |
| Node.js | Nodejs | 22.0.0 (including) | 22.22.0 (excluding) |
| Node.js | Nodejs | 24.0.0 (including) | 24.13.0 (excluding) |
| Node.js | Nodejs | 25.0.0 (including) | 25.3.0 (excluding) |
| Nodejs | Ubuntu | plucky | * |
| Nodejs | Ubuntu | upstream | * |
Mitigation of resource exhaustion attacks requires that the target system either:
The first of these solutions is an issue in itself though, since it may allow attackers to prevent the use of the system by a particular valid user. If the attacker impersonates the valid user, they may be able to prevent the user from accessing the server in question.
The second solution is simply difficult to effectively institute – and even when properly done, it does not provide a full solution. It simply makes the attack require more resources on the part of the attacker.