CVE-2026-45416
Netty: SNI handler pre-allocates up to 16 MiB from nine attacker bytes
Description
Netty is a network application framework for development of protocol servers and clients. Prior to versions 4.1.135.Final and 4.2.15.Final, SslClientHelloHandler.decode() reads the 24-bit TLS handshake length and, when the ClientHello does not fit in the first record, eagerly allocates `ctx.alloc().buffer(handshakeLength)` (line 161). The guard at line 140 is `handshakeLength > maxClientHelloLength && maxClientHelloLength != 0`, and the commonly-used SniHandler/AbstractSniHandler constructors (SniHandler(Mapping), SniHandler(AsyncMapping), AbstractSniHandler()) pass maxClientHelloLength=0 and handshakeTimeoutMillis=0, so the length guard is disabled and no timeout is scheduled. A 16 MiB request exceeds the default pooled chunk size and becomes a huge/unpooled allocation performed immediately. The buffer is retained in the handler until the channel closes. Versions 4.1.135.Final and 4.2.15.Final patch the issue.
How to fix CVE-2026-45416
To remediate CVE-2026-45416, upgrade the affected package to a fixed version below.
- —no fix listed
- —upgrade to 4.2.15.Final or later
Is CVE-2026-45416 being exploited?
No exploitation signal available. Neither CISA KEV nor a current EPSS score has been published for CVE-2026-45416.
Affected packages (2)
- from 0
- >= 4.2.0.Final, < 4.2.15.Final
CVSS scores
| Source | Version | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| osv | CVSS 3.1 | HIGH7.5 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |