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H3: Unbounded Chunked Cookie Count in Session Cleanup Loop may Lead to Denial of Service

Type: advisorySource: OSV1 source record

## Summary The `setChunkedCookie()` and `deleteChunkedCookie()` functions in h3 trust the chunk count parsed from a user-controlled cookie value (`__chunked__N`) without any upper bound validation. An unauthenticated attacker can send a single request with a crafted cookie header (e.g., `Cookie: h3=__chunked__999999`) to any endpoint using sessions, causing the server to enter an O(n²) loop that hangs the process. ## Details The chunked cookie system stores large cookie values by splitting them into numbered chunks. The main cookie stores a sentinel value `__chunked__N` indicating how many chunks exist. When setting a new chunked cookie, the code cleans up any previous chunks that are no longer needed. The vulnerability is in `getChunkedCookieCount()` at `src/utils/cookie.ts:244-249`: ```typescript function getChunkedCookieCount(cookie: string | undefined): number { if (!cookie?.startsWith(CHUNKED_COOKIE)) { return Number.NaN; } return Number.parseInt(cookie.slice(CHUNKED_COOKIE.length)); // No upper bound check — attacker controls this value } ``` This value is consumed without validation in the cleanup loop of `setChunkedCookie()` at `src/utils/cookie.ts:182-190`: ```typescript const previousCookie = getCookie(event, name); // reads from request headers if (previousCookie?.startsWith(CHUNKED_COOKIE)) { const previousChunkCount = getChunkedCookieCount(previousCookie); if (previousChunkCount > chunkCount) { for (let i = chunkCount; i <= previousChunkCount; i++) { deleteCookie

Announced Group revision 1
Original source ↗

GHSA-q5pr-72pq-83v3

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-q5pr-72pq-83v3

h3

Source reference: /affected/0/package/name

Affected versions
Not stated in this record
Fixed versions
2.0.1-rc.18

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": "2.0.0-beta.4"
          },
          {
            "fixed": "2.0.1-rc.18"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "package": {
      "name": "h3",
      "purl": "pkg:npm/h3",
      "ecosystem": "npm"
    },
    "database_specific": {
      "source": "https://github.com/github/advisory-database/blob/main/advisories/github-reviewed/2026/03/GHSA-q5pr-72pq-83v3/GHSA-q5pr-72pq-83v3.json"
    }
  }
]
Related CVEs
CVE-2026-86250

Source reference: /aliases

Publisher severity

No explicit severity was provided.

Event
#51919 · Revision 1
Added to Heist Feed
Publisher date
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