Medium severity · published Sep 23, 2026
CVE-2026-59980
hpack: Unbounded variable integer decoding can cause run-away computation on malformed input
6.3
CVSS
0.3%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
hpack is an HTTP/2 Header Encoding for Python. Prior to version 4.2.0, unbounded variable integer decoding can cause run-away computation on malformed input leading to O(n^2) runtime, effectively blocking further processing with large enough unsanitized input. A fix is available in python-hyper/hpack v4.2.0 to restricted variable integer decoding to uint32 to prevent run-away computation. As a workaround, sanitize input to hpack decoder for long sequences of `0xFF` values to prevent malicious use.
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.3% · higher than 23% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
HP
hpack · python-hyper
< 4.2.0 · source: vendor
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-59980
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-59980
cs.opensource.google
https://cs.opensource.google/go/x/net/+/master:http2/hpack/hpack.go;l=468;drc=8e2b117aee74f6b86c207a808b0255de45c0a18a
docs.rs
https://docs.rs/http2/0.5.19/src/http2/hpack/decoder.rs.html#403
github.com
https://github.com/python-hyper/hpack/commit/8cfb02c547740e16dbfe7aba77bad84b297cec2c
github.com
https://github.com/python-hyper/hpack/security/advisories/GHSA-8v8h-hg4w-mvq2
