Apache Thrift: Denial of service via JSON member name in Node.js bindings
Summary
The Node.js bindings of Apache Thrift, when used with the TJSONProtocol serializer, can be stalled by a crafted JSON member name, which causes the event loop to hang indefinitely. An attacker who can send Thrift JSON messages to an exposed service can cause a denial of service. Per the CVE record, the flaw is classified as an infinite loop and as prototype pollution (CWE-835, CWE-1321). Exploitation requires no privileges or user interaction.
Affected
- Apache Thrift before 0.25.0 (per vendor record, affected versions 0 to < 0.25.0)
- Relevant mainly for Node.js services that decode Thrift JSON messages with TJSONProtocol
- Distribution packages: Azure Linux thrift 0.24.0-1 is affected; Ubuntu status: Needs evaluation
Fixed in
- Apache Thrift 0.25.0 (released 30 Sep 2026)
Workaround
- No vendor workaround is documented. Upgrading to 0.25.0 is the fix.
- If patching is delayed, a third-party source suggests restricting access to the Thrift service to trusted clients and networks, validating or rate-limiting malformed JSON before it reaches the decoder, and monitoring Node.js event-loop latency. This is not a vendor recommendation.
Exploitation
- No known exploitation in the wild at the time of research.
- Not listed in the CISA KEV catalogue; no public proof of concept found.
- CISA SSVC: exploitation none, automatable yes, technical impact partial.
- EPSS 0.0034 (about 0.3% in 30 days).
Our recommendation
- Identify Node.js services that use Apache Thrift and check the installed version against 0.25.0.
- Upgrade to Apache Thrift 0.25.0 where the JSON protocol is used.
- Check whether any service accepts Thrift JSON from untrusted networks and restrict access as a priority.
- Check whether the JavaScript code must be regenerated after the upgrade, as stated for the related CVE-2026-86536.
- Monitor Node.js event-loop latency for signs of stalls.
Public exploits
PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit and Exploit-DB list nothing for this CVE.
Research sources
- Apache advisory thread 1 lists.apache.org
- Apache advisory thread 2 lists.apache.org
- Apache Thrift v0.25.0 release github.com
- Apache Thrift download page thrift.apache.org
- OSV BIT-thrift-2026-86535 osv.dev
- Ubuntu CVE-2026-86535 ubuntu.com
- Tenable CVE-2026-86535 www.tenable.com
- OpenCVE CVE-2026-86535 app.opencve.io
Researched and written up in English and German by an AI (Claude by Anthropic) based on NVD, CISA, EPSS and the sources listed. The vendor information is authoritative. Researched on 1 Nov 2026, 05:56.
Original description (NVD)
Loop with unreachable exit condition ('infinite loop'), Improperly controlled modification of object prototype attributes ('prototype pollution') vulnerability in Apache Thrift NodeJS bindings with TJSONProtocol. This issue affects Apache Thrift: before 0.25.0. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 0.25.0, which fixes the issue.
Sources
The tracker combines official, freely usable data sources – updated continuously:
- NVD (NIST) – CVEs, rating (CVSS), affected products
- CISA KEV – vulnerabilities confirmed by CISA as actively exploited
- CISA Vulnrichment – CISA assessment (SSVC) in the official CVE record
- FIRST EPSS – probability of exploitation
- Microsoft MSRC – Patch Tuesday: vulnerabilities, severity, updates
- PoC-in-GitHub – public proof-of-concept repositories
- Metasploit (Rapid7) – modules of the Metasploit Framework
- Exploit-DB (OffSec) – archive of public exploits (links only)
- Patch days: official vendor pages (linked per vendor) (Vendor patch days)
This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS data © FIRST.org.
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