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aws-smithy-json EUVDEUVD-2026-51271

| CVE-2026-18140 HIGH
Uncontrolled Recursion (CWE-674)
2026-07-30 AMZN GHSA-8ffr-xgwf-xj56
8.7
CVSS 4.0 · Vendor: AMZN
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Attack ChainAIDerived

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

  1. Access
    Identify network-reachable smithy-rs server
  2. Delivery
    Send small HTTP request with deeply nested JSON
  3. Exploit
    Trigger unbounded recursion in unknown-key skip path
  4. Execution
    Exhaust thread stack
  5. Impact
    Process aborts, service denied

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Recursion depth limits
Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires that the target be a smithy-rs generated server (or other Rust service) that deserializes attacker-supplied JSON using aws-smithy-json before 0.62.7 over a network-reachable endpoint - the description states the code generator invokes the vulnerable skip path from every generated struct deserializer, so no non-default feature toggle is needed. The concrete trigger is a single small HTTP request containing deeply nested JSON. Per the CVSS vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N) exploitation is remote and unauthenticated against default parsing behavior. Limiting factors: impact is confined to availability (a process abort, not code execution or data disclosure); client-only consumers of the AWS SDK for Rust that never parse untrusted JSON are not exposed; and services behind a gateway enforcing JSON depth limits are protected.

Impact

The provided CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H, score 8.7) is internally consistent with the description: network-reachable, low complexity, no privileges or user interaction, pure availability impact. This is a genuine, easily reachable DoS rather than an inflated high-CVSS-but-low-real-risk issue - the attack is a single small request against default parsing behavior. Impact is nonetheless bounded: no confidentiality or integrity loss, only a process abort, so blast radius depends on process supervision and load balancing. No EPSS score, SSVC decision, or POC status was provided, and the flaw is not in CISA KEV, so there is no evidence of active exploitation despite the low exploitation barrier - POC availability and active exploitation remain distinct and both are currently unconfirmed. Net priority is elevated for anyone running smithy-rs generated servers on an untrusted network and moderate for client-only consumers that never deserialize attacker-controlled JSON.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker sends a single small HTTP request whose JSON body contains many levels of nesting (for example a long run of opening braces or arrays) to a public endpoint served by a smithy-rs generated Rust server. The generated deserializer recurses through the nested structure while skipping keys, exhausts the thread's stack, and the process aborts, denying service to all users. No authentication, user interaction, or POC tooling is required, and no public exploit was identified at time of analysis.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 0.4% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv2 – Jul 30, 2026

Denial of service in the aws-smithy-json Rust runtime crate (versions before 0.62.7) lets remote unauthenticated attackers abort a process via stack exhaustion. Because the smithy-rs code generator wires this crate's deserializer into every generated struct, any smithy-rs generated server that parses JSON is exposed, and a single small HTTP request carrying deeply nested JSON triggers uncontrolled recursion in the unknown-key skip path. No public exploit was identified at time of analysis and the flaw is not in CISA KEV, but the trigger is trivial and a vendor patch is available.

Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
v1 Jul 30, 2026 - 19:20 CVSS 7.5

Denial of service in the aws-smithy-json Rust runtime crate before 0.62.7 lets remote unauthenticated attackers abort a smithy-rs generated server by sending one small HTTP request with deeply nested JSON, exhausting the stack via uncontrolled recursion. Because the smithy-rs code generator emits this deserialization path into every generated struct deserializer, any server built on the affected crate that accepts JSON input is exposed. No public exploit has been identified at time of analysis and the flaw is not in CISA KEV, but the trigger is trivial to construct.

RemediationAI

Vendor-released patch: aws-smithy-json 0.62.7. Upgrade the crate to 0.62.7 or later (published at https://crates.io/crates/aws-smithy-json/0.62.7) by running cargo update -p aws-smithy-json, confirming the resolved version in Cargo.lock, then rebuilding and redeploying - because this is a compiled dependency, updating the lockfile without a rebuild does not remediate. Review the AWS bulletin (https://aws.amazon.com/security/security-bulletins/2026-067-aws/) and the GHSA advisory (https://github.com/smithy-lang/smithy-rs/security/advisories/GHSA-8ffr-xgwf-xj56). Where an immediate rebuild is impossible, front smithy-rs generated servers with a reverse proxy or API gateway and reject requests whose JSON exceeds a modest nesting depth; the trade-off is that legitimately deep valid payloads may be dropped, and a byte-size cap alone is weak because the exploit payload is small, so prefer an explicit depth limit. Process supervision with automatic restart shortens the outage from any successful abort but does not prevent it.

Affected VersionsENISA

aws-smithy-json 0.32.0 ≤0.62.6

Affected Packages

cargo aws-smithy-json fix: 0.62.7

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in cargo

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

Technical ContextAI · show details

The affected component is aws-smithy-json, part of the smithy-rs runtime that underpins AWS's Smithy-generated Rust clients and servers (CPE cpe:2.3:a:aws:aws-smithy-json). Smithy is AWS's interface definition language; its Rust code generator emits per-shape deserializers that delegate JSON token handling to this crate. The root cause is CWE-674 (Uncontrolled Recursion): when the parser encounters an object key it does not recognize, its skip-value routine recurses through nested structures without a depth limit. Deeply nested JSON therefore drives native stack growth until the Rust runtime hits its stack guard and aborts the process, rather than returning a bounded parse error.

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Severity by source

Vendor (AMZN) PRIMARY 8.7 HIGH
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
vuln.today AI 7.5 HIGH

Remote unauthenticated JSON parsing with no interaction gives AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N; a stack-exhaustion abort is availability-only, so C:N/I:N/A:H with scope unchanged.

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Red Hat 7.5 HIGH

Primary rating from Vendor (AMZN).

CVSS VectorVendor: AMZN

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Attack Requirements
None
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Vulnerable system: Confidentiality
None
Vulnerable system: Integrity
None
Vulnerable system: Availability
High
Subsequent system: Confidentiality
None
Subsequent system: Integrity
None
Subsequent system: Availability
None

Lifecycle Timeline

3
Analysis Updated
Jul 30, 2026 - 19:29 vuln.today
v2 - CVSS changed
CVSS changed
Jul 30, 2026 - 19:22 NVD
7.5 (HIGH) 8.7 (HIGH)
CVE Published
Jul 30, 2026 - 18:34 cve.org
HIGH 7.5

DescriptionCVE.org

Uncontrolled recursion in the unknown-key skip path of the aws-smithy-json runtime crate before 0.62.7, which the smithy-rs code generator invokes from every generated struct deserializer, might allow remote unauthenticated users to cause a denial of service (process abort via stack exhaustion) via a single small HTTP request containing deeply nested JSON to a smithy-rs generated server.

To remediate this issue, users should upgrade to aws-smithy-json 0.62.7 or later and rebuild.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

aws-smithy-json library versions prior to 0.62.7 enable remote denial-of-service attacks against all smithy-rs-generated API servers that parse JSON, creating widespread service disruption risk across potentially many production systems. Organizations must patch immediately to restore resilience against trivial network-based attacks.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

Vendor-released patch: aws-smithy-json 0.62.7 and later

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.4%
Top 64% exploitable
Prevalence
Medium
AWS SDK for Rust runtime crate; growing but not universal Rust adoption
Threat Intel
1
1 sources
Exploit
POC
Public exploit code exists
Social Media
1
Sightings
Data Quality
8 sources
Confidence: High
EUVD NVD CVE.org EPSS Vulnrichment GHSA Vendor CIRCL GitHub VulDB

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 HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC Yes
EPSS 0.4%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
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
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
Yes
Human Impact
High
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

64
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +44
PoC: +20
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

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