Description
ImpactThe undici WebSocket client is vulnerable to a denial-of-service attack due to improper validation of the server_max_window_bits parameter in the permessage-deflate extension. When a WebSocket client connects to a server, it automatically advertises support for permessage-deflate compression. A malicious server can respond with an out-of-range server_max_window_bits value (outside zlib's valid range of 8-15). When the server subsequently sends a compressed frame, the client attempts to create a zlib InflateRaw instance with the invalid windowBits value, causing a synchronous RangeError exception that is not caught, resulting in immediate process termination. The vulnerability exists because: * The isValidClientWindowBits() function only validates that the value contains ASCII digits, not that it falls within the valid range 8-15 * The createInflateRaw() call is not wrapped in a try-catch block * The resulting exception propagates up through the call stack and crashes the Node.js process
CVSS Metrics
- Vector
- CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- Attack Vector
- network
- Complexity
- low
- Privileges
- none
- User Action
- none
- Scope
- unchanged
- Confidentiality
- none
- Integrity
- none
- Availability
- high
- Weaknesses
- CWE-248CWE-1284
Metadata
- Primary Vendor
- UNKNOWN
- Published
- 3/12/2026
- Last Modified
- 3/12/2026
- Source
- NIST NVD
- Note: Verify all details with official vendor sources before applying patches.
Affected Products
No affected products information available.
AI-Powered Remediation
Generate remediation guidance or a C-suite brief for this vulnerability.