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Dasel: Unbounded recursion in JSON and XML readers causes unrecoverable stack-overflow DoS

Type: advisorySource: OSV2 source records

## Summary `dasel`'s JSON and XML readers parse nested structures with unbounded recursion, one native stack frame per nesting level, with no depth guard. A small (sub-10 MB), deeply nested document drives the Go runtime past its goroutine stack limit and triggers a `fatal error: stack overflow`. This is **unrecoverable**: it is a runtime fatal error, not a `panic`, so a consumer's `defer`/`recover` cannot intercept it, the entire process dies. Both readers are affected; neither has a depth limit, and the JSON reader additionally has no input-size cap (the XML reader caps size at 10 MB but not depth). ## Affected Versions `github.com/tomwright/dasel/v3` and all v3.x releases through **v3.11.0** (current `main`, commit `abc1e1d`). This vulnerability is fixed in 3.11.1. Pre-v3 is out of scope. ## Description ### JSON reader @ `parsing/json/json_reader.go` `decodeValue` (line 54) dispatches to the mutually-recursive `decodeObject` (line 78) and `decodeArray` (line 140). Each calls back into both for nested values (`decodeArray`→`decodeArray` at line 151, `decodeObject` at 163; `decodeObject`→`decodeArray` at 95, `decodeObject` at 111). Every `[` or `{` in the input adds one stack frame. There is **no depth counter and no `len(data)` cap** anywhere in the reader. ### XML reader @`parsing/xml/reader.go` `parseElement` (line 172) recurses at line 211 for every `xml.StartElement`. The file declares explicit DoS guards — `maxXMLSize = 10_000_000`, comment count/length — but these bou

Announced Group revision 1
Original source ↗

GO-2026-6549

Revision 1

Dasel: Unbounded recursion in JSON and XML readers causes unrecoverable stack-overflow DoS in github.com/tomwright/dasel

Dasel: Unbounded recursion in JSON and XML readers causes unrecoverable stack-overflow DoS in github.com/tomwright/dasel

Imported from structured advisory data. Source references identify upstream records or fields; verify affected versions and your deployed configuration.

Security context

Source reference: osv:GO-2026-6549

github.com/tomwright/dasel

Source reference: /affected/0/package/name

Affected versions
Not stated in this record
Fixed versions
Not stated in this record
Prerequisites
Not stated in this record

github.com/tomwright/dasel/v2

Source reference: /affected/1/package/name

Affected versions
Not stated in this record
Fixed versions
Not stated in this record
Prerequisites
Not stated in this record

github.com/tomwright/dasel/v3

Source reference: /affected/2/package/name

Affected versions
Not stated in this record
Fixed versions
3.11.1

Source reference: /affected/2/ranges

Prerequisites
Not stated in this record

Structured affected-version data

Original package identities and version rules from this source.

[
  {
    "ranges": [
      {
        "type": "SEMVER",
        "events": [
          {
            "introduced": "0"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "package": {
      "name": "github.com/tomwright/dasel",
      "purl": "pkg:golang/github.com/tomwright/dasel",
      "ecosystem": "Go"
    },
    "database_specific": {
      "source": "https://vuln.go.dev/ID/GO-2026-6549.json"
    },
    "ecosystem_specific": {}
  },
  {
    "ranges": [
      {
        "type": "SEMVER",
        "events": [
          {
            "introduced": "0"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "package": {
      "name": "github.com/tomwright/dasel/v2",
      "purl": "pkg:golang/github.com/tomwright/dasel/v2",
      "ecosystem": "Go"
    },
    "database_specific": {
      "source": "https://vuln.go.dev/ID/GO-2026-6549.json"
    },
    "ecosystem_specific": {}
  },
  {
    "ranges": [
      {
        "type": "SEMVER",
        "events": [
          {
            "introduced": "3.0.0"
          },
          {
            "fixed": "3.11.1"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "package": {
      "name": "github.com/tomwright/dasel/v3",
      "purl": "pkg:golang/github.com/tomwright/dasel/v3",
      "ecosystem": "Go"
    },
    "database_specific": {
      "source": "https://vuln.go.dev/ID/GO-2026-6549.json"
    },
    "ecosystem_specific": {}
  }
]
Related CVEs
CVE-2026-59168

Source reference: /aliases

Publisher severity

No explicit severity was provided.

Event
#63826 · Revision 1
Added to Heist Feed
Publisher date
Read the original announcement

GHSA-cqxr-jxr2-85pq

Primary source · Revision 1

Imported from structured advisory data. Source references identify upstream records or fields; verify affected versions and your deployed configuration.

Security context

Source reference: osv:GHSA-cqxr-jxr2-85pq

github.com/tomwright/dasel/v3

Source reference: /affected/0/package/name

Affected versions
Not stated in this record
Fixed versions
3.11.1

Source reference: /affected/0/ranges

Prerequisites
Not stated in this record

Structured affected-version data

Original package identities and version rules from this source.

[
  {
    "ranges": [
      {
        "type": "SEMVER",
        "events": [
          {
            "introduced": "3.0.0"
          },
          {
            "fixed": "3.11.1"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "package": {
      "name": "github.com/tomwright/dasel/v3",
      "purl": "pkg:golang/github.com/tomwright/dasel/v3",
      "ecosystem": "Go"
    },
    "database_specific": {
      "source": "https://github.com/github/advisory-database/blob/main/advisories/github-reviewed/2026/09/GHSA-cqxr-jxr2-85pq/GHSA-cqxr-jxr2-85pq.json",
      "last_known_affected_version_range": "<= 3.11.0"
    }
  }
]
Related CVEs
CVE-2026-59168

Source reference: /aliases

Publisher severity

No explicit severity was provided.

Event
#63915 · Revision 1
Added to Heist Feed
Publisher date
Read the original announcement