CVE-2026-69218 — Http4s Ember HTTP/2: unbounded continuation frame accumulation
Http4s is a Scala interface for HTTP services. Prior to 0.23.35 and 1.0.0-M47, When Ember receives an HTTP/2 HEADERS or PUSH_PROMISE frame without END_HEADERS, H2Connection buffers the header block and subsequent CONTINUATION fragments without a size bound. A remote peer can keep an incomplete block open and exhaust heap memory before request decoding, affecting an ember-server or ember-client configured with withHttp2. The remediation tracks accumulated size against SETTINGS_MAX_HEADER_LIST_SIZE derived from EmberServerBuilder.maxHeaderSize or EmberClientBuilder.maxResponseHeaderSize, sends GOAWAY when the limit is exceeded, and applies receiveHeadersTimeout to incomplete blocks. This issue is fixed in versions 0.23.35 and 1.0.0-M47.
Who exploits it and how urgent it is
A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.
How the score was calculated
- EPSS 0.6% (30-day exploitation probability)+7
- Technical severity (high)+6
- Automatable exploitation (SSVC)+3
The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).
Triage
Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.
CISA SSVC assessment CISA
Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.
Remediation
Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.
No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.
First 24 hours
Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.
- Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Http4s Http4s).
- The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
- No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
- Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (denial of service), errors and authentication anomalies.
Affected scope
Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.
Attack characteristics
The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.
Every base score collected
Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.
| Score | Version | Severity | Expl. | Impact | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.5 | CVSS 3.1 | High | 3.9 | 3.6 | security-advisories@github.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 7.5 | CVSS 3.1 | High | — | — | GitHub_M via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H (score shown at the top: security-advisories@github.com) Weakness MITRE
Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.
CWE-770 · Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling
Detection
Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.
- Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
- Track CPU/memory spikes and availability drops correlated with request patterns.
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first.
- 2026
- Affected products added · http4s/http4s
- SSVC assessment updated
- Record published
- CVSS changed · 7.5
- Source status changed · → Deferred
- Record created in this database
- CVE published
Source activity
Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.
- 1× Official description updated · Oct 15, 2026 – Oct 15, 2026
References
5 on the record
- github.com/http4s/http4s/commit/f9dcca4f5a17992ac0972fafd7920f9bc12cdc51
- github.com/http4s/http4s/releases/tag/v1.0.0-M47
- github.com/http4s/http4s/security/advisories/GHSA-cp4q-fqw9-4hf6
- github.com/http4s/http4s/releases/tag/v0.23.35
- github.com/http4s/http4s/commit/6e8eccd64a6a74ab4811897881e95e0e1b3a818e
Elsewhere on this site
Related CVEs (same products)
- High CVE-2026-88975 Http4s: Ember HTTP/2 buffers a frame's declared payload before checking SETTINGS_MAX_FRAME_SIZE Sep 15, 2026
- High CVE-2026-69217 Http4s: Ember Server accepts duplicate Content-Length headers Sep 15, 2026
- Medium CVE-2026-69215 Http4s: CookieJar middleware matches by substring, leaking cookies cross-origin Sep 15, 2026
- High CVE-2026-69210 Http4s: WebSocket decoder accepts negative length, causing infinite decode loop Sep 15, 2026
- Medium CVE-2026-69206 Http4s: DigestAuth allows replay of captured requests Sep 15, 2026
- High CVE-2026-69203 Http4s Ember HTTP/2: does not enforce SETTINGS_MAX_CONCURRENT_STREAMS Sep 15, 2026
Not in any source we poll
Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.
- No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
- No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
- No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
- No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.
Answered from this record
Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.
What should defenders know first?
CVE-2026-69218 is "Http4s Ember HTTP/2: unbounded continuation frame accumulation", rated High. It affects Http4s (Http4s); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 7.5 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.63% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.
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