CVE-2026-53659

http4k: Unbounded gzip decompression in `ServerFilters.GZip` / `RequestFilters.GunZip` allowed memory-exhaustion DoS

HIGH
7.5
CVSS Score
Published: September 14, 2026 at 05:29 PM UTC
Updated: September 30, 2026 at 07:57 PM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorHTTP4K

Using http4k by http4k?

Get instant alerts when new vulnerabilities affect http4k - before attackers find them.

Real-time alertsTrack your software stackFree plan available
Severity
HIGH7.5
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.6%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

http4k is a functional toolkit for Kotlin HTTP applications. Prior to 4.51.0.0, 5.42.0.0, and 6.49.0.0, ServerFilters.GZip, RequestFilters.GunZip, and the underlying Gzip request-body decompression functions impose no limit on decompressed size. An unauthenticated client can send a small gzip-encoded request body that expands to gigabytes, exhausting the JVM heap and denying service to other clients. The fix uses SizeLimitedInputStream to enforce a default 10 MiB limit, causes ServerFilters.GZip and RequestFilters.GunZip to return 413 Request Entity Too Large, and causes other decompression paths to throw SizeLimitExceededException. This issue is fixed in versions 4.51.0.0, 5.42.0.0, and 6.49.0.0.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

v < 4.51.0.0v < 5.42.0.0v < 6.49.0.0
Affected range stops below 4.51.0.0, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 5.42.0.0, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 6.49.0.0, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet, and no fixed version or vendor advisory is recorded against it.

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitAutomatablePartial impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

7.5HIGHGitHub_M
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
NONE
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusDEFERRED
CWE
CWE-409

Get alerted

Stop reading CVE feeds looking for your own stack

Track the products you run and VulnTracker tells you when a new CVE affects them — with what is known about fixing it, and nothing about the rest.

Free plan, no card