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CVE-2026-7790

Unbounded chunk-size hex digits in cowlib cause quadratic CPU and memory DoS

8.7 HighFix available

Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability in ninenines cowlib (cow_http_te module) allows Excessive Allocation.

The chunked transfer-encoding parser in cow_http_te accepts an unbounded number of hex digits in the chunk-size field. Each digit causes a bignum multiplication (Len * 16 + digit), so parsing N hex digits requires O(N²) CPU work and O(N) memory. Additionally, when input is drip-fed, the parser discards the accumulated length on each partial read and restarts from zero on resumption, raising the cost to O(N³). An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this by sending an HTTP/1.1 request with Transfer-Encoding: chunked and a very long chunk-size hex string to cause denial of service through CPU exhaustion and memory amplification.

This vulnerability is associated with program file src/cow_http_te.erl and program routines cow_http_te:stream_chunked/2, cow_http_te:chunked_len/4.

This issue affects cowlib: from 0.6.0 before 2.16.1.

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

0.43%Up 0.4 points since May 12, 2026
90%50%10%1%

What each source reports

CVE List Score used 8.7

Unbounded chunk-size hex digits in cowlib cause quadratic CPU and memory DoS

Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability in ninenines cowlib (cow_http_te module) allows Excessive Allocation.

The chunked transfer-encoding parser in cow_http_te accepts an unbounded number of hex digits in the chunk-size field. Each digit causes a bignum multiplication (Len * 16 + digit), so parsing N hex digits requires O(N²) CPU work and O(N) memory. Additionally, when input is drip-fed, the parser discards the accumulated length on each partial read and restarts from zero on resumption, raising the cost to O(N³). An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this by sending an HTTP/1.1 request with Transfer-Encoding: chunked and a very long chunk-size hex string to cause denial of service through CPU exhaustion and memory amplification.

This vulnerability is associated with program file src/cow_http_te.erl and program routines cow_http_te:stream_chunked/2, cow_http_te:chunked_len/4.

This issue affects cowlib: from 0.6.0 before 2.16.1.

Record
CVE-2026-7790
CVSS 4.0
8.7 HighCVSS: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-400
Updated
2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2026-29200 8.7

Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability in ninenines cowlib (cow_http_te module) allows Excessive Allocation.

The chunked transfer-encoding parser in cow_http_te accepts an unbounded number of hex digits in the chunk-size field. Each digit causes a bignum multiplication (Len * 16 + digit), so parsing N hex digits requires O(N²) CPU work and O(N) memory. Additionally, when input is drip-fed, the parser discards the accumulated length on each partial read and restarts from zero on resumption, raising the cost to O(N³). An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this by sending an HTTP/1.1 request with Transfer-Encoding: chunked and a very long chunk-size hex string to cause denial of service through CPU exhaustion and memory amplification.

This vulnerability is associated with program file src/cow_http_te.erl and program routines cow_http_te:stream_chunked/2, cow_http_te:chunked_len/4.

This issue affects cowlib: from 0.6.0 before 2.16.1.

Record
EUVD-2026-29200
CVSS 4.0
8.7 HighCVSS: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
2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-32p9-57cr-4x65 8.7

cowlib cow_http_te module: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability allows Excessive Allocation

Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability in ninenines cowlib (cow_http_te module) allows Excessive Allocation.

The chunked transfer-encoding parser in cow_http_te accepts an unbounded number of hex digits in the chunk-size field. Each digit causes a bignum multiplication (Len * 16 + digit), so parsing N hex digits requires O(N²) CPU work and O(N) memory. Additionally, when input is drip-fed, the parser discards the accumulated length on each partial read and restarts from zero on resumption, raising the cost to O(N³). An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this by sending an HTTP/1.1 request with Transfer-Encoding: chunked and a very long chunk-size hex string to cause denial of service through CPU exhaustion and memory amplification.

This vulnerability is associated with program file src/cow_http_te.erl and program routines cow_http_te:stream_chunked/2, cow_http_te:chunked_len/4.

This issue affects cowlib: from 0.6.0 before 2.16.1.

Record
GHSA-32p9-57cr-4x65
CVSS 4.0
8.7 HighCVSS: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-400
Updated
2026-11-02
NVD 8.7

Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability in ninenines cowlib (cow_http_te module) allows Excessive Allocation.

The chunked transfer-encoding parser in cow_http_te accepts an unbounded number of hex digits in the chunk-size field. Each digit causes a bignum multiplication (Len * 16 + digit), so parsing N hex digits requires O(N²) CPU work and O(N) memory. Additionally, when input is drip-fed, the parser discards the accumulated length on each partial read and restarts from zero on resumption, raising the cost to O(N³). An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this by sending an HTTP/1.1 request with Transfer-Encoding: chunked and a very long chunk-size hex string to cause denial of service through CPU exhaustion and memory amplification.

This vulnerability is associated with program file src/cow_http_te.erl and program routines cow_http_te:stream_chunked/2, cow_http_te:chunked_len/4.

This issue affects cowlib: from 0.6.0 before 2.16.1.

Record
CVE-2026-7790
CVSS 4.0
8.7 HighCVSS: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
CVSS 3.1
7.5 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness
CWE-400
Updated
2026-11-02
OSV 8.7

Unbounded chunk-size hex digits in cowlib cause quadratic CPU and memory DoS

Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability in ninenines cowlib (cow_http_te module) allows Excessive Allocation.

The chunked transfer-encoding parser in cow_http_te accepts an unbounded number of hex digits in the chunk-size field. Each digit causes a bignum multiplication (Len * 16 + digit), so parsing N hex digits requires O(N²) CPU work and O(N) memory. Additionally, when input is drip-fed, the parser discards the accumulated length on each partial read and restarts from zero on resumption, raising the cost to O(N³). An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this by sending an HTTP/1.1 request with Transfer-Encoding: chunked and a very long chunk-size hex string to cause denial of service through CPU exhaustion and memory amplification.

This vulnerability is associated with program file src/cow_http_te.erl and program routines cow_http_te:stream_chunked/2, cow_http_te:chunked_len/4.

This issue affects cowlib: from 0.6.0 before 2.16.1.

Record
CVE-2026-7790
CVSS 4.0
8.7 HighCVSS: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-400
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2026-7790 7.5

Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability in ninenines cowlib (cow_http_te module) allows Excessive Allocation. The chunked transfer-encoding parser in cow_http_te accepts an unbounded number of hex digits in the chunk-size field. Each digit causes a bignum multiplication (Len * 16 + digit), so parsing N hex digits requires O(N²) CPU work and O(N) memory. Additionally, when input is drip-fed, the parser discards the accumulated length on each partial read and restarts from zero on resumption, raising the cost to O(N³). An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this by sending an HTTP/1.1 request with Transfer-Encoding: chunked and a very long chunk-size hex string to cause denial of service through CPU exhaustion and memory amplification. This vulnerability is associated with program file src/cow_http_te.erl and program routines cow_http_te:stream_chunked/2, cow_http_te:chunked_len/4. This issue affects cowlib: from 0.6.0 before 2.16.1.

Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2026-7790
CVSS 3.1
7.5 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
Show 4 moreShow less
OSVEEF-CVE-2026-7790 8.7

Unbounded chunk-size hex digits in cowlib cause quadratic CPU and memory DoS

Summary

Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability in ninenines cowlib (cow_http_te module) allows Excessive Allocation.

The chunked transfer-encoding parser in cow_http_te accepts an unbounded number of hex digits in the chunk-size field. Each digit causes a bignum multiplication (Len * 16 + digit), so parsing N hex digits requires O(N²) CPU work and O(N) memory. Additionally, when input is drip-fed, the parser discards the accumulated length on each partial read and restarts from zero on resumption, raising the cost to O(N³). An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this by sending an HTTP/1.1 request with Transfer-Encoding: chunked and a very long chunk-size hex string to cause denial of service through CPU exhaustion and memory amplification.

This vulnerability is associated with program file src/cow_http_te.erl and program routines cow_http_te:stream_chunked/2, cow_http_te:chunked_len/4.

This issue affects cowlib: from 0.6.0 before 2.16.1.

Workarounds

In Cowboy, setting initial_stream_flow_size to a much lower value limits the amount of chunked body data that cowlib will parse in a single read, reducing the window of data an attacker can use to trigger the quadratic work. This does not fully eliminate the vulnerability but can significantly reduce its impact for some applications.

Record
EEF-CVE-2026-7790
CVSS 4.0
8.7 HighCVSS: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-400
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-32p9-57cr-4x65 8.7

cowlib cow_http_te module: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability allows Excessive Allocation

Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability in ninenines cowlib (cow_http_te module) allows Excessive Allocation.

The chunked transfer-encoding parser in cow_http_te accepts an unbounded number of hex digits in the chunk-size field. Each digit causes a bignum multiplication (Len * 16 + digit), so parsing N hex digits requires O(N²) CPU work and O(N) memory. Additionally, when input is drip-fed, the parser discards the accumulated length on each partial read and restarts from zero on resumption, raising the cost to O(N³). An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this by sending an HTTP/1.1 request with Transfer-Encoding: chunked and a very long chunk-size hex string to cause denial of service through CPU exhaustion and memory amplification.

This vulnerability is associated with program file src/cow_http_te.erl and program routines cow_http_te:stream_chunked/2, cow_http_te:chunked_len/4.

This issue affects cowlib: from 0.6.0 before 2.16.1.

Record
GHSA-32p9-57cr-4x65
CVSS 4.0
8.7 HighCVSS: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-400
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2026-7790 8.7

Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability in ninenines cowlib (cow_http_te module) allows Excessive Allocation. The chunked transfer-encoding parser in cow_http_te accepts an unbounded number of hex digits in the chunk-size field. Each digit causes a bignum multiplication (Len * 16 + digit), so parsing N hex digits requires O(N²) CPU work and O(N) memory. Additionally, when input is drip-fed, the parser discards the accumulated length on each partial read and restarts from zero on resumption, raising the cost to O(N³). An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this by sending an HTTP/1.1 request with Transfer-Encoding: chunked and a very long chunk-size hex string to cause denial of service through CPU exhaustion and memory amplification. This vulnerability is associated with program file src/cow_http_te.erl and program routines cow_http_te:stream_chunked/2, cow_http_te:chunked_len/4. This issue affects cowlib: from 0.6.0 before 2.16.1.

Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2026-7790
CVSS 4.0
8.7 HighCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
CVSS 3.1
7.5 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVAZL-86790 No score

CVE-2026-7790 affecting package rabbitmq-server for versions less than 3.13.7-5

Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability in ninenines cowlib (cow_http_te module) allows Excessive Allocation.

The chunked transfer-encoding parser in cow_http_te accepts an unbounded number of hex digits in the chunk-size field. Each digit causes a bignum multiplication (Len * 16 + digit), so parsing N hex digits requires O(N²) CPU work and O(N) memory. Additionally, when input is drip-fed, the parser discards the accumulated length on each partial read and restarts from zero on resumption, raising the cost to O(N³). An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this by sending an HTTP/1.1 request with Transfer-Encoding: chunked and a very long chunk-size hex string to cause denial of service through CPU exhaustion and memory amplification.

This vulnerability is associated with program file src/cow_http_te.erl and program routines cow_http_te:stream_chunked/2, cow_http_te:chunked_len/4.

This issue affects cowlib: from 0.6.0 before 2.16.1.

Record
AZL-86790
Updated
2026-11-05

Affected products

Affected packages

Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
cowlib
Hex
0.6.0 up to 2.16.1
2.16.1
rabbitmq-server
Azure Linux:3
before 3.13.7-5
3.13.7-5
erlang-cowlib
Debian:12
All versions, plus listed versions
1.3.0-32.17.1-12.17.1-22.18.0-12.19.0-12.20.0-12.21.0-1
None known
erlang-cowlib
Debian:13
All versions, plus listed versions
1.3.0-32.17.1-12.17.1-22.18.0-12.19.0-12.20.0-12.21.0-1
None known
erlang-cowlib
Debian:14
before 2.17.1-1, plus listed versions
1.3.0-3
2.17.1-1
cowlib
Hex
0.6.0 up to 2.16.1, plus listed versions
1.0.01.0.11.0.21.1.01.2.0
Show 27 moreShow less
1.3.02.0.02.0.12.1.02.10.02.10.12.11.02.12.02.12.12.13.02.14.02.15.02.16.02.2.02.2.12.3.02.4.02.5.02.5.12.6.02.7.02.7.12.7.22.7.32.8.02.9.02.9.1
2.16.1
erlang-cowlib
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
1.3.0-1
None known
erlang-cowlib
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
1.3.0-2
None known
erlang-cowlib
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
1.3.0-3
None known
erlang-cowlib
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
1.3.0-3
None known
Show 4 moreShow less
Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
erlang-cowlib
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
1.3.0-3
None known
erlang-cowlib
Ubuntu:25.10
All versions, plus listed versions
1.3.0-3
None known
erlang-cowlib
Ubuntu:26.10
All versions, plus listed versions
1.3.0-3build12.19.0-1
None known
erlang-cowlib
Ubuntu:26.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
1.3.0-31.3.0-3build1
None known

History

History
RecordedChangedSources
factsOSV
first indexedCVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV

Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.

In short

CVE-2026-7790 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 8.7) in Ninenines Cowlib, published May 11, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.43%, the 37th percentile. Fixed in cowlib 2.16.1.

References

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