PyJWT: Unauthenticated RecursionError DoS in pre-verification payload parse (PyJWKClient.get_signing_key_from_jwt / verify_signature=False)
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-101918 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | GitHub_M |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-09-28 21:17:13 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-10-07 20:59:17 UTC |
| Description | PyJWT is a Python implementation of JSON Web Token standards. From 2.0.0a1 until 2.15.0, PyJWT PyJWKClient.get_signing_key_from_jwt is affected because payload parser catches ValueError but not RecursionError. This occurs when an attacker-controlled recursively nested payload reaches json.loads. As a result, documented PyJWT exception handling does not contain the failure. Consequently, an unauthenticated request can raise an exception that may produce an HTTP 500 response. The advisory-defined affected implementation also includes jwt/api_jwt.py, verify_signature=False. This issue is fixed in version 2.15.0. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.1 7.5 HIGH from [email protected]
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS: 0.002910000 probability, percentile 0.195060000 (date 2026-09-29)
Problem Types: CWE-248 | CWE-248 CWE-248: Uncaught Exception
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Primary | 7.5 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Secondary | 5.3 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L |
| 3.1 | CNA | DECLARED | 5.3 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
NetworkAttack Complexity
LowPrivileges Required
NoneUser Interaction
NoneScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
NoneIntegrity
NoneAvailability
HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)
| Type | Vendor | Product | Version | Update | Edition | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application | Pyjwt Project | Pyjwt | All | All | All | All |
Vendor Declared Affected Products
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| github.com/jpadilla/pyjwt/commit/5fde08a6cf906aa7698de2d6391d88b73006b17b | [email protected] | github.com | Patch |
| github.com/jpadilla/pyjwt/releases/tag/2.15.0 | [email protected] | github.com | Product, Release Notes |
| github.com/jpadilla/pyjwt/security/advisories/GHSA-42vr-xj54-vc7v | [email protected] | github.com | Exploit, Mitigation, Vendor Advisory |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
No vendor comments have been submitted for this CVE.
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.