jq: Unbounded Recursion in jv_setpath(), jv_getpath() and delpaths_sorted()

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Summary

CVECVE-2026-33947
StatePUBLISHED
AssignerGitHub_M
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2026-04-13 22:16:29 UTC
Updated2026-04-13 22:16:29 UTC
Descriptionjq is a command-line JSON processor. In versions 1.8.1 and below, functions jv_setpath(), jv_getpath(), and delpaths_sorted() in jq's src/jv_aux.c use unbounded recursion whose depth is controlled by the length of a caller-supplied path array, with no depth limit enforced. An attacker can supply a JSON document containing a flat array of ~65,000 integers (~200 KB) that, when used as a path argument by a trusted jq filter, exhausts the C call stack and crashes the process with a segmentation fault (SIGSEGV). This bypass works because the existing MAX_PARSING_DEPTH (10,000) limit only protects the JSON parser, not runtime path operations where arrays can be programmatically constructed to arbitrary lengths. The impact is denial of service (unrecoverable crash) affecting any application or service that processes untrusted JSON input through jq's setpath, getpath, or delpaths builtins. This issue has been addressed in commit fb59f1491058d58bdc3e8dd28f1773d1ac690a1f.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.1 6.2 MEDIUM from [email protected]

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Problem Types: CWE-674 | CWE-674 CWE-674: Uncontrolled Recursion

VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.1[email protected]Secondary6.2MEDIUMCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
3.1CNADECLARED6.2MEDIUMCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Jqlang Jq affected < fb59f1491058d58bdc3e8dd28f1773d1ac690a1f Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
github.com/jqlang/jq/commit/fb59f1491058d58bdc3e8dd28f1773d1ac690a1f [email protected] github.com
github.com/jqlang/jq/security/advisories/GHSA-xwrw-4f8h-rjvg [email protected] github.com
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