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isomorphic-git EUVDEUVD-2026-116272

| CVE-2026-63476 MEDIUM
Uncontrolled Resource Consumption (CWE-400)
2026-11-03 GitHub_M
4.3
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: GitHub_M
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Victim app clones/fetches malicious or MitM remote
  2. Delivery
    Server sends packfile with crafted OBJ_REF_DELTA header
  3. Exploit
    targetSize=0x7FFFFFFF passed to Buffer.alloc unbounded
  4. Execution
    ~2 GB off-heap allocation before validation
  5. Impact
    Process OOM-killed on memory-constrained host

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2025 - Insecure Design
ASVS 5.0
V2 - Validation and Business Logic Resource consumption limits
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Impact

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires that the target application call isomorphic-git's git.clone() or git.fetch() against a remote the attacker controls or can intercept (man-in-the-middle); the attacker then sends one packfile containing an OBJ_REF_DELTA whose delta header declares an oversized targetSize (e.g. 0x7FFFFFFF ≈ 2 GB), which src/utils/applyDelta.js passes directly to Buffer.alloc with no upper bound before validating the actual delta output. No authentication is needed (PR:N) and no special isomorphic-git configuration is required - default clone/fetch behavior is affected. Limiting factors: the attack needs the victim to initiate the fetch/clone against the malicious or intercepted endpoint (UI:R), and impact depends on host memory - containers, serverless functions, and small VMs are OOM-killed, whereas hosts with ample RAM only incur a silent ~2 GB transient waste (the size-mismatch error is swallowed in GitPackIndex.fromPack) rather than a crash. Node.js --max-old-space-size heap limits do not mitigate it because the allocation is off-heap.

Impact

This is a genuine but moderate-priority issue, correctly rated low-to-medium (CVSS 4.3). The CVSS vector CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L is internally consistent with the mechanism: network-reachable, no authentication (PR:N), low complexity, but requiring user interaction (UI:R) because the victim application must initiate git.clone()/git.fetch() against a malicious or MitM-controlled remote. Impact is availability-only (C:N/I:N/A:L) - a denial of service via ~2 GB off-heap Buffer.alloc from an attacker-controlled targetSize, with no code execution or data exposure. The vuln.today decision label is 'this_month' (not act_now/emergency), aligning with the modest severity. No CISA KEV entry and no EPSS score were provided in the input, so there is no confirmed active exploitation and no modeled exploitation probability to weigh; absence of these signals is not evidence of safety but does not elevate priority. A public PoC reference exists (spiceoverflow/av4-oom) that reports confirmed OOM allocation under a 256 MB heap cap, which demonstrates the defect is practically triggerable. Net assessment: a real, exploit-demonstrated DoS worth patching on a normal cadence, most meaningful for services that clone/fetch from untrusted remotes on memory-constrained infrastructure; not a drop-everything emergency given availability-only impact and the required user-initiated fetch.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An application (for example a CI job, webhook handler, or serverless function) performs git.clone() or git.fetch() with isomorphic-git against a remote that is attacker-controlled or intercepted via man-in-the-middle. The server returns a single packfile whose OBJ_REF_DELTA header declares targetSize = 0x7FFFFFFF, forcing Buffer.alloc(~2 GB) before the delta output is validated. On a container, serverless function, or small VM the OS SIGKILLs the process (DoS); a public PoC reference (spiceoverflow/av4-oom) reports a confirmed ~2048 MB external allocation during clone.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
Patch available

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AnalysisAIv1 – Nov 03, 2026

Unbounded memory allocation in isomorphic-git before 1.38.6 allows a malicious or man-in-the-middle-controlled Git remote to force git.clone() or git.fetch() to allocate roughly 2 GB from a single packfile delta, causing denial of service on memory-constrained hosts. The server-controlled delta targetSize is passed to Buffer.alloc without an upper bound in src/utils/applyDelta.js, and Node.js heap limits do not mitigate the off-heap allocation. The vendor fixed this in 1.38.6; a public PoC reference exists but is not verified as working exploit code, and no CISA KEV active-exploitation confirmation is provided.

RemediationAI

Vendor-released patch: 1.38.6. Upgrade isomorphic-git to 1.38.6 or later via the release at https://github.com/isomorphic-git/isomorphic-git/releases/tag/v1.38.6; the advisory is at https://github.com/isomorphic-git/isomorphic-git/security/advisories/GHSA-9x82-4j54-863h and the upstream change is tracked in PR https://github.com/isomorphic-git/isomorphic-git/pull/2370 and commit 823843d1cd19182df79bc907c767f5bcecb39a0b. The advisory's suggested code-level fix is to stop pre-allocating the untrusted targetSize, build the result from actual delta operations, and validate the total against targetSize before concatenating. No complete operational workaround is described in the provided data; updating to 1.38.6 is the specified fix.

Affected VersionsENISA

isomorphic-git < 1.38.6

Affected Packages

euvd isomorphic_git fix: 1.38.6

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in euvd

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

isomorphic-git is a pure JavaScript Git implementation for Node.js and browsers. Its packfile delta application path reads a server-supplied targetSize as a varint in src/utils/applyDelta.js and allocates a Buffer of that size before checking the actual delta output; a single OBJ_REF_DELTA header declaring 0x7FFFFFFF (~2 GB) with a tiny op triggers the allocation. The weakness is CWE-400 uncontrolled resource consumption, with the advisory also citing CWE-789 memory allocation with excessive size value, and because Buffer allocations are off-heap, --max-old-space-size does not prevent them. The later size-mismatch error can be swallowed in GitPackIndex.fromPack, so hosts with sufficient memory may see only transient resource waste while smaller hosts are killed. The CVSS vector describes network reachability, low attack complexity, no privileges required, and user interaction required for the victim to initiate clone/fetch.

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Severity by source

Vendor (GitHub_M) PRIMARY 4.3 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
vuln.today AI 4.3 MEDIUM

Remote unauthenticated attacker needs the victim to initiate a clone/fetch (UI:R); impact is availability-only process crash/resource waste (A:L), with no confidentiality or integrity effect.

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Primary rating from Vendor (GitHub_M).

CVSS VectorVendor: GitHub_M

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Low

Lifecycle Timeline

1
Patch available
Nov 03, 2026 - 21:03 EUVD

DescriptionCVE.org

isomorphic-git is a pure JavaScript implementation of Git for Node.js and browsers. Prior to 1.38.6, isomorphic-git reads a server-controlled targetSize while applying a packfile delta in src/utils/applyDelta.js and passes it without a bound to Buffer.alloc(targetSize). A malicious or man-in-the-middle-controlled remote can send one delta header that causes git.clone() or git.fetch() to allocate approximately 2 GB before validating the actual delta output. GitPackIndex.fromPack swallows the later size-mismatch error, so a host with sufficient memory may retain the resource waste without a visible failure, while containers, serverless functions, and small virtual machines may terminate. Node.js heap limits do not mitigate the off-heap Buffer allocation. This issue is fixed in version 1.38.6.

Threat Intelligence Overview

Prevalence
Medium
popular pure-JS Git library (npm), common in CI/browser tooling, not ubiquitous
Data Quality
3 sources
Confidence: Low

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS N/A
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

22
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +22
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

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