fastify vulnerable to Denial of Service via uncaught exception on handlerTimeout with streaming responses
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-120216 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | openjs |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-11-02 11:17:31 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-11-02 11:17:31 UTC |
| Description | fastify is a web framework for Node.js. In versions 5.8.0 through 5.12.7, when the server is configured with a nonzero handlerTimeout and a route returns a streaming response, a request whose stream has already sent its headers but stays open past the timeout crashes the server. When the timeout fires, Fastify tries to send a new error response on a response that has already started, raising an uncaught ERR_HTTP_HEADERS_SENT that terminates the Node.js process and interrupts any other in-flight requests. An unauthenticated remote client can trigger this with a single request to an affected streaming endpoint, so the impact is availability only, and exploitation requires the non-default handlerTimeout to be set. The default handlerTimeout of 0 is not affected. The issue is fixed in fastify 5.12.8, and users should upgrade to 5.12.8 or later. As a workaround, set handlerTimeout to 0, which disables the affected timeout path. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.1 5.9 MEDIUM from ce714d77-add3-4f53-aff5-83d477b104bb
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Problem Types: CWE-248 | CWE-248 CWE-248: Uncaught Exception
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | ce714d77-add3-4f53-aff5-83d477b104bb | Secondary | 5.9 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
| 3.1 | CNA | CVSS | 5.9 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
NetworkAttack Complexity
HighPrivileges Required
NoneUser Interaction
NoneScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
NoneIntegrity
NoneAvailability
HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Vendor Declared Affected Products
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| cna.openjsf.org/security-advisories.html | ce714d77-add3-4f53-aff5-83d477b104bb | cna.openjsf.org | |
| github.com/fastify/fastify/security/advisories/GHSA-3qgw-9275-xf8w | ce714d77-add3-4f53-aff5-83d477b104bb | github.com | |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
Vendor Comments And Credit
Discovery Credit
CNA: SLRHR (en)
CNA: mcollina (en)
CNA: UlisesGascon (en)
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.