Vulnerability in Jqlang Jq
CVE-2026-33947
jq is a command-line JSON processor. In versions 1.8.1 and below, functions jv_setpath(), jv_getpath(), and delpaths_sorted() in jq's src/jv_aux.c use unbounded recursion whose depth is controlled by the length of a caller-supplied path array, with no depth limit enforced. An attacker can supply a JSON document containing a flat array of ~65,000 integers (~200 KB) that, when used as a path argument by a trusted jq filter, exhausts the C call stack and crashes the process with a segmentation fault (SIGSEGV). This bypass works because the existing MAX_PARSING_DEPTH (10,000) limit only protects the JSON parser, not runtime path operations where arrays can be programmatically constructed to arbitrary lengths. The impact is denial of service (unrecoverable crash) affecting any application or service that processes untrusted JSON input through jq's setpath, getpath, or delpaths builtins. This issue has been addressed in commit fb59f1491058d58bdc3e8dd28f1773d1ac690a1f.
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 6.2 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.002 (6.4th percentile), scored .
Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 6th percentile — 6.4% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.002 · newest: 0.002 · change: -0.001
Affected products
- Jqlang Jq — versions < fb59f1491058d58bdc3e8dd28f1773d1ac690a1f
Weakness classification (CWE)
References
- github.com/jqlang/jq/security/advisories/GHSA-xwrw-4f8h-rjvg (Exploit, Vendor Advisory)
- github.com/jqlang/jq/commit/fb59f1491058d58bdc3e8dd28f1773d1ac690a1f (Patch)
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 (Mailing List)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2026-33947?
- CVE-2026-33947 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Jqlang Jq, classified under Uncontrolled Recursion. CVSS score: 6.2/10. Published 2026-04-13.
- How severe is CVE-2026-33947?
- Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 6.2 out of 10.