BREW-HOWDOI-CVE-2026-102265 (GHSA-8WJV-2P76-3863)
Vulnerability from osv_homebrew – Published: 2026-09-30 10:47 – Updated: 2026-09-30 10:47 – Source websitePackage
pyjwt (PyPI)
Affected versions
tested & verified on: 2.13.0. Every version whose PyJWS._load() translates only ValueError is affected
Description
PyJWS._looad() (jwt/api_jws.py:337) splits the compact token, base64url decodes the header segment and hands it to json.loads() before _verify_signature() runs. The parse is wrapped in except ValueError as e: raise DecodeError(...). That is what makes the documented contract sufficient for untrusted input: except jwt.PyJWTError (or InvalidTokenError) around jwt.decode(token, key, algorithms=[...]).
CPython's JSON decoder raises RecursionError (a RuntimeError subclass, not a ValueError) once nesting crosses the native stack guard. That exception leaves _load(), then jwt.decode(), and matches no PyJWTError handlerr at all. No key and no valid signature are needed: the header is parsed first, so a single unauthenticated request with an unsigned token suffices.
Scope: the recursion threshold is ~65,000 nesting levels; below it the same input yields a clean DecodeError (a 346,800-byte flat header is rejected normally, so depth, not size, is the trigger). A token this large cannot ride in an Authorization header (rejected at HTTP field limits,431 under gunicorn), but body transport (RFC 7662 introspection style) is a standard pattern. Under Flask 3.1.3 / gunicorn 26.2.0 each crafted request returns HTTP 500 instead of 401 and writes a full traceback to the error log; the sync worker survives.
Proof of concept
Against any endpoint that validates a token from its JSON body with the documented pattern:
import base64, json, http.client
def b64url(b): return base64.urlsafe_b64encode(b).rstrip(b"=")
# unsigned token: the header segment is 200,000 nested '[' (266,681 bytes total)
token = (b64url(b"[" * 200_000) + b"." + b64url(b'{"a":1}') + b"." + b64url(b"x")).decode()
conn = http.client.HTTPConnection("127.0.0.1", 8125, timeout=30)
conn.request("POST", "/api/protected", body=json.dumps({"token": token}),
headers={"Content-Type": "application/json"})
print(conn.getresponse().status) # 500, expected 401
Determinism: 20/20 crafted requests returned 500 against the reference container (PyJWT 2.13.0, Flask 3.1.3, gunicorn 26.2.0, Python 3.14.7) in 0.12 s (about 6 ms per request in a tight loop, 14 ms for a cold request), each leaving a RecursionError: Stack overflow ... while decoding a JSON array traceback in the error log.
Impact
An unauthenticated attacker can turn every request to a JWT validating endpoint into a server error with a full traceback logged per request, a cheap and repeatable denial of service on the authentication path (no crash, no data exposure).
Fix
Catch RecursionError alongside ValueError in _load() and raise DecodeError, or parse the header with a nonrecursive, depthbounded parser.
Reproduction
A standalone package (docker-compose.yml, Dockerfile, requirements.txt, target app, driver) accompanies this report:
cd <package dir>
docker compose up -d --build
python3 poc_check_then_attack.py
docker compose down -v
Exit 0= reproduced (control checks green, exactly one crafted request returns 500, traceback verified in docker logs, service alive afterwards); 1 = not reproduced; 2 = checks failed, no attack sent. The package's run_log.txt documents a complete proof run.
Credits
- @Nivid42
Maintainer update — 2026-09-09
We reproduced the reported behavior on PyJWT 2.13.0: a deeply nested JSON array in the untrusted compact-JWS header reaches json.loads() before signature verification and raises RecursionError, which is not a PyJWTError. The same input is accepted by the public jwt.decode() path and can escape an application's normal except PyJWTError handling.
The fix is committed as 06573692ebcdec8831c3927513b3e87c31fbbb62. PyJWS._load() now translates both ValueError and RecursionError from header JSON parsing into DecodeError. A regression test covers the deeply nested-header path before signature verification. The full suite passes with 373 tests and 4 intentional cryptography-environment skips.
No release containing the fix has been published yet, so the patched version remains unset pending release planning. The advisory remains medium severity and unpublished.
Maintainer update — 2026-09-11
The verified fix for this advisory is included in PyJWT 2.14.0, released on 2026-09-11 and available on PyPI. PyJWT 2.14.0 is the first release containing the fix. This advisory is now published with 2.14.0 recorded as the patched version.
{
"affected": [
{
"ecosystem_specific": {
"fix": null,
"range_state": "affected",
"resource": "pyjwt",
"resource_purl": "pkg:pypi/pyjwt@2.13.0",
"upstream_fixed_in": "2.14.0"
},
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Homebrew",
"name": "howdoi",
"purl": "pkg:brew/howdoi"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "2.0.20_22"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
}
],
"database_specific": {
"confidence": "high",
"source": "matched",
"strategy": "registry",
"upstream_evidence": [
{
"ecosystem": "PyPI",
"key": "pkg:pypi/pyjwt@2.13.0",
"name": "pyjwt",
"resource": "pyjwt",
"strategy": "registry",
"subject_version": "2.13.0"
}
]
},
"details": "## Package\n\npyjwt (PyPI)\n\n## Affected versions\n\ntested \u0026 verified on: 2.13.0. Every version whose `PyJWS._load()` translates only `ValueError` is affected\n\n## Description\n\n`PyJWS._looad()` (`jwt/api_jws.py:337`) splits the compact token, base64url decodes the header segment and hands it to `json.loads()` before `_verify_signature()` runs. The parse is wrapped in `except ValueError as e: raise DecodeError(...)`. That is what makes the documented contract sufficient for untrusted input: `except jwt.PyJWTError` (or `InvalidTokenError`) around `jwt.decode(token, key, algorithms=[...])`.\n\nCPython\u0027s JSON decoder raises `RecursionError` (a `RuntimeError` subclass, not a `ValueError`) once nesting crosses the native stack guard. That exception leaves `_load()`, then `jwt.decode()`, and matches no `PyJWTError` handlerr at all. No key and no valid signature are needed: the header is parsed first, so a single unauthenticated request with an unsigned token suffices.\n\nScope: the recursion threshold is ~65,000 nesting levels; below it the same input yields a clean `DecodeError` (a 346,800-byte flat header is rejected normally, so depth, not size, is the trigger). A token this large cannot ride in an `Authorization` header (rejected at HTTP field limits,431 under gunicorn), but body transport (RFC 7662 introspection style) is a standard pattern. Under Flask 3.1.3 / gunicorn 26.2.0 each crafted request returns HTTP 500 instead of 401 and writes a full traceback to the error log; the sync worker survives.\n\n## Proof of concept\n\nAgainst any endpoint that validates a token from its JSON body with the documented pattern:\n\n```python\nimport base64, json, http.client\n\ndef b64url(b): return base64.urlsafe_b64encode(b).rstrip(b\"=\")\n\n# unsigned token: the header segment is 200,000 nested \u0027[\u0027 (266,681 bytes total)\ntoken = (b64url(b\"[\" * 200_000) + b\".\" + b64url(b\u0027{\"a\":1}\u0027) + b\".\" + b64url(b\"x\")).decode()\n\nconn = http.client.HTTPConnection(\"127.0.0.1\", 8125, timeout=30)\nconn.request(\"POST\", \"/api/protected\", body=json.dumps({\"token\": token}),\n headers={\"Content-Type\": \"application/json\"})\nprint(conn.getresponse().status) # 500, expected 401\n```\n\nDeterminism: 20/20 crafted requests returned 500 against the reference container (PyJWT 2.13.0, Flask 3.1.3, gunicorn 26.2.0, Python 3.14.7) in 0.12 s (about 6 ms per request in a tight loop, 14 ms for a cold request), each leaving a `RecursionError: Stack overflow ... while decoding a JSON array` traceback in the error log.\n\n## Impact\n\nAn unauthenticated attacker can turn every request to a JWT validating endpoint into a server error with a full traceback logged per request, a cheap and repeatable denial of service on the authentication path (no crash, no data exposure).\n\n## Fix\n\nCatch `RecursionError` alongside `ValueError` in `_load()` and raise `DecodeError`, or parse the header with a nonrecursive, depthbounded parser.\n\n## Reproduction\n\nA standalone package (docker-compose.yml, Dockerfile, requirements.txt, target app, driver) accompanies this report:\n\n```\ncd \u003cpackage dir\u003e\ndocker compose up -d --build\npython3 poc_check_then_attack.py\ndocker compose down -v\n```\n[poc_pyjwt_recursion.zip](https://github.com/user-attachments/files/31614987/poc_pyjwt_recursion.zip)\n\nExit 0= reproduced (control checks green, exactly one crafted request returns 500, traceback verified in `docker logs`, service alive afterwards); 1 = not reproduced; 2 = checks failed, no attack sent. The package\u0027s `run_log.txt` documents a complete proof run.\n\n## Credits\n\n- @Nivid42\n\n## Maintainer update \u2014 2026-09-09\n\nWe reproduced the reported behavior on PyJWT 2.13.0: a deeply nested JSON array in the untrusted compact-JWS header reaches `json.loads()` before signature verification and raises `RecursionError`, which is not a `PyJWTError`. The same input is accepted by the public `jwt.decode()` path and can escape an application\u0027s normal `except PyJWTError` handling.\n\nThe fix is committed as `06573692ebcdec8831c3927513b3e87c31fbbb62`. `PyJWS._load()` now translates both `ValueError` and `RecursionError` from header JSON parsing into `DecodeError`. A regression test covers the deeply nested-header path before signature verification. The full suite passes with 373 tests and 4 intentional cryptography-environment skips.\n\nNo release containing the fix has been published yet, so the patched version remains unset pending release planning. The advisory remains medium severity and unpublished.\n\n## Maintainer update \u2014 2026-09-11\n\nThe verified fix for this advisory is included in PyJWT 2.14.0, released on 2026-09-11 and available on PyPI. PyJWT 2.14.0 is the first release containing the fix. This advisory is now published with 2.14.0 recorded as the patched version.",
"id": "BREW-howdoi-CVE-2026-102265",
"modified": "2026-09-30T10:47:34Z",
"published": "2026-09-30T10:47:34Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/jpadilla/pyjwt/security/advisories/GHSA-8wjv-2p76-3863"
},
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-102265"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/jpadilla/pyjwt/commit/06573692ebcdec8831c3927513b3e87c31fbbb62"
},
{
"type": "PACKAGE",
"url": "https://github.com/jpadilla/pyjwt"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/jpadilla/pyjwt/releases/tag/2.14.0"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.7.3",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
],
"summary": "PyJWT: Uncaught RecursionError in jwt.decode() on deeply nested token header",
"upstream": [
"GHSA-8wjv-2p76-3863",
"CVE-2026-102265"
]
}
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
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Browse all ATT&CK techniques and the vulnerabilities related to each.
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