CVE-2026-123792
Symfony: Exponential and Quadratic Parse Times in the YAML Parser Let a Single Document Hold a Process
The Symfony Yaml components Inline and Parser, parse some YAML documents inefficiently, so that a small crafted document can take disproportionately long to process, keeping a PHP process busy for seconds or minutes, potentially causing a denial of service in Symfony versions prior to 5.4.56, 6.x prior to 6.4.50, 7.x prior to 7.4.23, and 8.x prior to 8.1.11.
The parser repeats work it has already done in several places. An embedded mapping in a flow sequence is parsed again for every scalar appended to it, and so are the collections nested in it, so the parse time grows exponentially with the nesting depth. The patterns matching mapping keys and tags scan a run of spaces once per character of the run, and each scalar of a flow collection is matched against a copy of the rest of the collection, so the parse time grows quadratically with the size of the input. Nested blocks are also copied at each nesting level, which consumes memory as well as time. A few other constructs, such as an empty sequence item followed by a blank line or an anchor named 0, trigger similar repeated work.
Any code parsing untrusted YAML is affected, with the default flags. In Symfony 7.4 and later, that includes #[MapRequestPayload] when the Yaml component is installed and the endpoint does not restrict acceptFormat. A single unauthenticated request with a YAML content type keeps a PHP worker busy until max_execution_time. JSON documents are valid YAML, so a JSON payload sent with a YAML content type is enough for the flow collection case. In Symfony 6.4, #[MapRequestPayload] accepts YAML only when the application registers a yaml request format.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
8.7
Symfony: Exponential and Quadratic Parse Times in the YAML Parser Let a Single Document Hold a Process
The Symfony Yaml components Inline and Parser, parse some YAML documents inefficiently, so that a small crafted document can take disproportionately long to process, keeping a PHP process busy for seconds or minutes, potentially causing a denial of service in Symfony versions prior to 5.4.56, 6.x prior to 6.4.50, 7.x prior to 7.4.23, and 8.x prior to 8.1.11.
The parser repeats work it has already done in several places. An embedded mapping in a flow sequence is parsed again for every scalar appended to it, and so are the collections nested in it, so the parse time grows exponentially with the nesting depth. The patterns matching mapping keys and tags scan a run of spaces once per character of the run, and each scalar of a flow collection is matched against a copy of the rest of the collection, so the parse time grows quadratically with the size of the input. Nested blocks are also copied at each nesting level, which consumes memory as well as time. A few other constructs, such as an empty sequence item followed by a blank line or an anchor named 0, trigger similar repeated work.
Any code parsing untrusted YAML is affected, with the default flags. In Symfony 7.4 and later, that includes #[MapRequestPayload] when the Yaml component is installed and the endpoint does not restrict acceptFormat. A single unauthenticated request with a YAML content type keeps a PHP worker busy until max_execution_time. JSON documents are valid YAML, so a JSON payload sent with a YAML content type is enough for the flow collection case. In Symfony 6.4, #[MapRequestPayload] accepts YAML only when the application registers a yaml request format.
- Record
CVE-2026-123792- CVSS 4.0
- 8.7 High
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N - Weakness
- CWE-407, CWE-1333
- Updated
- 2026-11-06
EUVDEUVD-2026-118309
8.7
The Symfony Yaml components Inline and Parser, parse some YAML documents inefficiently, so that a small crafted document can take disproportionately long to process, keeping a PHP process busy for seconds or minutes, potentially causing a denial of service in Symfony versions prior to 5.4.56, 6.x prior to 6.4.50, 7.x prior to 7.4.23, and 8.x prior to 8.1.11.
The parser repeats work it has already done in several places. An embedded mapping in a flow sequence is parsed again for every scalar appended to it, and so are the collections nested in it, so the parse time grows exponentially with the nesting depth. The patterns matching mapping keys and tags scan a run of spaces once per character of the run, and each scalar of a flow collection is matched against a copy of the rest of the collection, so the parse time grows quadratically with the size of the input. Nested blocks are also copied at each nesting level, which consumes memory as well as time. A few other constructs, such as an empty sequence item followed by a blank line or an anchor named 0, trigger similar repeated work.
Any code parsing untrusted YAML is affected, with the default flags. In Symfony 7.4 and later, that includes #[MapRequestPayload] when the Yaml component is installed and the endpoint does not restrict acceptFormat. A single unauthenticated request with a YAML content type keeps a PHP worker busy until max_execution_time. JSON documents are valid YAML, so a JSON payload sent with a YAML content type is enough for the flow collection case. In Symfony 6.4, #[MapRequestPayload] accepts YAML only when the application registers a yaml request format.
- Record
EUVD-2026-118309- CVSS 4.0
- 8.7 High
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N - Updated
- 2026-11-06
NVD
8.7
The Symfony Yaml components Inline and Parser, parse some YAML documents inefficiently, so that a small crafted document can take disproportionately long to process, keeping a PHP process busy for seconds or minutes, potentially causing a denial of service in Symfony versions prior to 5.4.56, 6.x prior to 6.4.50, 7.x prior to 7.4.23, and 8.x prior to 8.1.11.
The parser repeats work it has already done in several places. An embedded mapping in a flow sequence is parsed again for every scalar appended to it, and so are the collections nested in it, so the parse time grows exponentially with the nesting depth. The patterns matching mapping keys and tags scan a run of spaces once per character of the run, and each scalar of a flow collection is matched against a copy of the rest of the collection, so the parse time grows quadratically with the size of the input. Nested blocks are also copied at each nesting level, which consumes memory as well as time. A few other constructs, such as an empty sequence item followed by a blank line or an anchor named 0, trigger similar repeated work.
Any code parsing untrusted YAML is affected, with the default flags. In Symfony 7.4 and later, that includes #[MapRequestPayload] when the Yaml component is installed and the endpoint does not restrict acceptFormat. A single unauthenticated request with a YAML content type keeps a PHP worker busy until max_execution_time. JSON documents are valid YAML, so a JSON payload sent with a YAML content type is enough for the flow collection case. In Symfony 6.4, #[MapRequestPayload] accepts YAML only when the application registers a yaml request format.
- Record
CVE-2026-123792- CVSS 4.0
- 8.7 High
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X - Weakness
- CWE-407, CWE-1333
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
OSV
8.7
Symfony: Exponential and Quadratic Parse Times in the YAML Parser Let a Single Document Hold a Process
The Symfony Yaml components Inline and Parser, parse some YAML documents inefficiently, so that a small crafted document can take disproportionately long to process, keeping a PHP process busy for seconds or minutes, potentially causing a denial of service in Symfony versions prior to 5.4.56, 6.x prior to 6.4.50, 7.x prior to 7.4.23, and 8.x prior to 8.1.11.
The parser repeats work it has already done in several places. An embedded mapping in a flow sequence is parsed again for every scalar appended to it, and so are the collections nested in it, so the parse time grows exponentially with the nesting depth. The patterns matching mapping keys and tags scan a run of spaces once per character of the run, and each scalar of a flow collection is matched against a copy of the rest of the collection, so the parse time grows quadratically with the size of the input. Nested blocks are also copied at each nesting level, which consumes memory as well as time. A few other constructs, such as an empty sequence item followed by a blank line or an anchor named 0, trigger similar repeated work.
Any code parsing untrusted YAML is affected, with the default flags. In Symfony 7.4 and later, that includes #[MapRequestPayload] when the Yaml component is installed and the endpoint does not restrict acceptFormat. A single unauthenticated request with a YAML content type keeps a PHP worker busy until max_execution_time. JSON documents are valid YAML, so a JSON payload sent with a YAML content type is enough for the flow collection case. In Symfony 6.4, #[MapRequestPayload] accepts YAML only when the application registers a yaml request format.
- Record
CVE-2026-123792- CVSS 4.0
- 8.7 High
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N - Weakness
- CWE-1333, CWE-407
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2026-123792
8.7
The Symfony Yaml components Inline and Parser, parse some YAML documents inefficiently, so that a small crafted document can take disproportionately long to process, keeping a PHP process busy for seconds or minutes, potentially causing a denial of service in Symfony versions prior to 5.4.56, 6.x prior to 6.4.50, 7.x prior to 7.4.23, and 8.x prior to 8.1.11. The parser repeats work it has already done in several places. An embedded mapping in a flow sequence is parsed again for every scalar appended to it, and so are the collections nested in it, so the parse time grows exponentially with the nesting depth. The patterns matching mapping keys and tags scan a run of spaces once per character of the run, and each scalar of a flow collection is matched against a copy of the rest of the collection, so the parse time grows quadratically with the size of the input. Nested blocks are also copied at each nesting level, which consumes memory as well as time. A few other constructs, such as an empty sequence item followed by a blank line or an anchor named 0, trigger similar repeated work. Any code parsing untrusted YAML is affected, with the default flags. In Symfony 7.4 and later, that includes #[MapRequestPayload] when the Yaml component is installed and the endpoint does not restrict acceptFormat. A single unauthenticated request with a YAML content type keeps a PHP worker busy until max_execution_time. JSON documents are valid YAML, so a JSON payload sent with a YAML content type is enough for the flow collection case. In Symfony 6.4, #[MapRequestPayload] accepts YAML only when the application registers a yaml request format.
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2026-123792- CVSS 4.0
- 8.7 High
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X - Updated
- 2026-11-07
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
symfonyDebian:12 |
All versions, plus listed versions 5.4.23+dfsg-15.4.23+dfsg-1+deb12u15.4.23+dfsg-1+deb12u25.4.23+dfsg-1+deb12u35.4.23+dfsg-1+deb12u4 Show 45 moreShow less5.4.23+dfsg-1+deb12u55.4.24+dfsg-15.4.25+dfsg-15.4.27+dfsg-15.4.28+dfsg-15.4.29+dfsg-15.4.30+dfsg-15.4.31+dfsg-15.4.31+dfsg-25.4.32+dfsg-15.4.33+dfsg-15.4.34+dfsg-15.4.34+dfsg-25.4.35+dfsg-15.4.35+dfsg-25.4.35+dfsg-35.4.52+dfsg-0+deb12u15.4.53+dfsg-0+deb12u16.3.0+dfsg-16.3.0~rc1+dfsg-16.3.0~rc2+dfsg-16.3.1+dfsg-16.3.3+dfsg-16.3.4+dfsg-16.3.5+dfsg-16.3.6+dfsg-16.3.7+dfsg-16.4.0+dfsg-16.4.0~beta2+dfsg-16.4.0~beta3+dfsg-16.4.0~rc1+dfsg-16.4.0~rc2+dfsg-16.4.1+dfsg-16.4.10+dfsg-16.4.11+dfsg-16.4.12+dfsg-16.4.13+dfsg-16.4.14+dfsg-16.4.15+dfsg-16.4.16+dfsg-16.4.16+dfsg-26.4.17+dfsg-16.4.17+dfsg-26.4.17+dfsg-36.4.17+dfsg-4 |
None known |
symfonyDebian:13 |
All versions, plus listed versions 6.4.21+dfsg-26.4.21+dfsg-2+deb13u16.4.24+dfsg-16.4.25+dfsg-16.4.40+dfsg-0+deb13u1 Show 45 moreShow less6.4.41+dfsg-0+deb13u16.4.49+dfsg-0+deb13u17.0.4+dfsg-17.0.5+dfsg-17.0.6+dfsg-17.0.7+dfsg-17.1.0~beta1+dfsg-17.1.0~rc1+dfsg-17.1.2+dfsg-17.1.3+dfsg-17.1.4+dfsg-17.1.5+dfsg-17.2.0~beta1+dfsg-17.2.0~beta2+dfsg-17.2.0~rc1+dfsg-17.2.1+dfsg-17.2.2+dfsg-17.2.3+dfsg-17.2.4+dfsg-17.2.5+dfsg-17.2.6-17.3.0+dfsg-17.3.0~beta1+dfsg-17.3.0~beta2+dfsg-17.3.0~rc1+dfsg-17.3.1+dfsg-17.3.2+dfsg-17.3.3+dfsg-17.3.4+dfsg-17.3.5-17.4.0+dfsg-17.4.0+dfsg-27.4.0~beta1-17.4.0~beta1-27.4.0~beta2+dfsg-17.4.0~beta2+dfsg-27.4.0~beta2+dfsg-37.4.0~rc1+dfsg-17.4.0~rc2+dfsg-17.4.0~rc3+dfsg-17.4.10+dfsg-17.4.12+dfsg-17.4.13+dfsg-17.4.13+dfsg-27.4.14+dfsg-1 |
None known |
symfonyDebian:14 |
All versions, plus listed versions 6.4.21+dfsg-26.4.24+dfsg-16.4.25+dfsg-17.0.4+dfsg-17.0.5+dfsg-1 Show 45 moreShow less7.0.6+dfsg-17.0.7+dfsg-17.1.0~beta1+dfsg-17.1.0~rc1+dfsg-17.1.2+dfsg-17.1.3+dfsg-17.1.4+dfsg-17.1.5+dfsg-17.2.0~beta1+dfsg-17.2.0~beta2+dfsg-17.2.0~rc1+dfsg-17.2.1+dfsg-17.2.2+dfsg-17.2.3+dfsg-17.2.4+dfsg-17.2.5+dfsg-17.2.6-17.3.0+dfsg-17.3.0~beta1+dfsg-17.3.0~beta2+dfsg-17.3.0~rc1+dfsg-17.3.1+dfsg-17.3.2+dfsg-17.3.3+dfsg-17.3.4+dfsg-17.3.5-17.4.0+dfsg-17.4.0+dfsg-27.4.0~beta1-17.4.0~beta1-27.4.0~beta2+dfsg-17.4.0~beta2+dfsg-27.4.0~beta2+dfsg-37.4.0~rc1+dfsg-17.4.0~rc2+dfsg-17.4.0~rc3+dfsg-17.4.10+dfsg-17.4.12+dfsg-17.4.13+dfsg-17.4.13+dfsg-27.4.14+dfsg-17.4.15+dfsg-17.4.15+dfsg-27.4.16+dfsg-17.4.17+dfsg-1 |
None known |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases, references | NVD, OSV | |
| affected, aliases, references | NVD, OSV | |
| cwes, products, references, severity, title | CVE List | |
| first indexed | EUVD |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2026-123792 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 8.7) in Sensiolabs Symfony, published November 6, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.50%, the 43rd percentile. No source names a fixed version.
References
github.com/symfony/symfony/security/advisories/GHSA-hwfg-qwvh-2wfx
github.com/symfony/symfony/commit/487f63bf2cacebc8ed8273c5c10d92955acd2402
github.com/symfony/symfony/commit/08db22d52e5d3e6ec2f5c50db30a4d818100ffb9
github.com/symfony/symfony/commit/49e03035eda3000e978a4612db74900013255ccd
github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/123xxx/CVE-2026-123792.json
github.com/symfony/yaml
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-123792
packagist.org/packages/symfony/yaml
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-123792
Left out here: 213 versions. The JSON record has them.