CVE-2026-54463: websocket-driver: Memory exhaustion via abuse of protocol length headers
(updated )
The frame format in draft versions of the WebSocket protocol includes a length header that allows an arbitrarily large integer to be encoded as a sequence of bytes with the high bit set. By sending an indefinite sequence of bytes with values 0x80 or above, a server or client can make the other peer parse these bytes into an ever-growing integer. Since Ruby integers are arbitrary precision, this can be used to make a WebSocket connection consume an unbounded amount of memory and lead to the host process running out of memory.
References
- github.com/advisories/GHSA-ghhp-3qvg-889p
- github.com/faye/websocket-driver-ruby/commit/d0141f041f6e3677a951255d547a313e732ccbe0
- github.com/faye/websocket-driver-ruby/releases/tag/0.8.1
- github.com/faye/websocket-driver-ruby/security/advisories/GHSA-ghhp-3qvg-889p
- github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/websocket-driver/CVE-2026-54463.yml
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-54463
- www.cve.org/CVERecord/SearchResults?query=CVE-2026-54463
Code Behaviors & Features
Detect and mitigate CVE-2026-54463 with GitLab Dependency Scanning
Secure your software supply chain by verifying that all open source dependencies used in your projects contain no disclosed vulnerabilities. Dependency Scanning using SBOM also detects vulnerabilities from proprietary advisories that this site does not include. Learn more about Dependency Scanning using SBOM →