CVE-2026-33947 — jq: Unbounded Recursion in jv_setpath(), jv_getpath() and delpaths_sorted()

Affected: jqlang jq

jq 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.

USN-8202-1 — jq vulnerabilities

Affected: Ubuntu:Pro:14.04:LTS: jq, Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS: jq, Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS: jq, Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS: jq, Ubuntu:22.04:LTS: jq, Ubuntu:24.04:LTS: jq, Ubuntu:25.10: jq

It was discovered that jq did not correctly handle certain string concatenations. An attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a denial of service or execute arbitrary code. This issue was addressed in Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and Ubuntu 25.10. (CVE-2026-32316)

It was discovered that jq did not correctly handle recursion in certain circumstances. An attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a denial of service. (CVE-2026-33947)

It was discovered that jq did not correctly handle improperly terminated strings. An attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a denial of service or execute arbitrary code. This issue was addressed in Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and Ubuntu 25.10. (CVE-2026-33948)

It was discovered that jq did not correctly handle checking certain variable types. An attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a denial of service or leak sensitive information. This issue was addressed in Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and Ubuntu 25.10. (CVE-2026-39956)

It was discovered that jq did not correctly handle certain string formatting. An attacker could possibly use this issue to leak sensitive information or cause a denial of service. (CVE-2026-39979)

It was discovered that jq used a fixed seed for hash table operations. An attacker could possibly use this issue to cau…

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CVE-2026-33947 — jq: Unbounded Recursion in jv_setpath(), jv_getpath() and delpaths_sorted()

USN-8202-1 — jq vulnerabilities