Resource exhaustion in Twisted

CVE-2026-115774

Twisted is an event-based framework for internet applications, supporting Python 3.6+. Prior to 26.10.0rc1, twisted.mail.imap4.IMAP4Server reaches twisted.mail.imap4.parseNestedParens with a negative literal size in an authenticated SEARCH command after the client enters the selected mailbox state. The negative size moves the parser cursor below zero, and Python's negative indexing prevents the synchronous scanning loop from terminating. The loop freezes the single-threaded reactor, stopping other IMAP connections and any SMTP or POP3 services hosted in the same process until restart. This issue is fixed in version 26.10.0rc1.

Vulnerability class: DoS (Denial of Service)

Published .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 4.9 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

No EPSS score from FIRST.org yet. New CVEs usually get one within a few days; no score means no signal yet, not low risk. How EPSS works.

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-115774?
CVE-2026-115774 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Twisted, classified under Uncontrolled Resource Consumption. CVSS score: 4.9/10. Published 2026-10-23.
How severe is CVE-2026-115774?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 4.9 out of 10.