High

cjson — security advisory

Type: advisorySources: OSVAdvisory ID: DEBIAN-CVE-2026-67216

cJSON through 1.7.19 contains an inefficient algorithmic complexity flaw in cJSON_Compare(). When comparing objects, the function recurses into each shared subtree twice, once in each direction, with no depth guard, making the running time exponential in nesting depth. A small, deeply nested document of a few hundred bytes (depth around 40) compared for equality consumes hours of CPU, and the cost roughly doubles with each additional level of nesting. An application that calls cJSON_Compare() on attacker-influenced JSON that is structurally equal to a reference document is exposed to a denial-of-service condition.

Products: cjson
Affected versions: 1.7.15-1, 1.7.15-1+deb12u1, 1.7.15-1+deb12u2, 1.7.15-1+deb12u3, 1.7.15-1+deb12u4, 1.7.16-1, 1.7.16-2, 1.7.17-1, 1.7.17-2, 1.7.18-1, 1.7.18-2, 1.7.18-3, 1.7.18-3.1, 1.7.18-3.1+deb13u1, 1.7.18-4, 1.7.19-1, 1.7.19-2
Fixed versions: Not specified
CVEs: CVE-2026-67216
Confirmed fixed CVEs: Not specified
Updated in this feed: 1 Nov 2026, 04:10 UTC · Revision 1

Source evidence

DEBIAN-CVE-2026-67216

core-osv · Original source

Published 29 Jul 2026, 14:16 UTC

osv:DEBIAN-CVE-2026-67216

cjson

Fixed versions: Not specified

cjson

Fixed versions: Not specified

cjson

Fixed versions: Not specified

Complete source record

{
  "id": "bc7fb876d631bacb215cff56290c5ce52347fd35b5a1b3fbcbb8d945ea69a9e3",
  "url": "https://osv.dev/vulnerability/DEBIAN-CVE-2026-67216",
  "method": "structured",
  "payload": {
    "kind": "advisory",
    "title": "DEBIAN-CVE-2026-67216",
    "summary": "cJSON through 1.7.19 contains an inefficient algorithmic complexity flaw in cJSON_Compare(). When comparing objects, the function recurses into each shared subtree twice, once in each direction, with no depth guard, making the running time exponential in nesting depth. A small, deeply nested document of a few hundred bytes (depth around 40) compared for equality consumes hours of CPU, and the cost roughly doubles with each additional level of nesting. An application that calls cJSON_Compare() on attacker-influenced JSON that is structurally equal to a reference document is exposed to a denial-of-service condition.",
    "evidence": "osv:DEBIAN-CVE-2026-67216",
    "products": [
      {
        "name": {
          "value": "cjson",
          "evidence": "/affected/0/package/name"
        },
        "prerequisites": [],
        "fixed_versions": [],
        "affected_versions": [
          {
            "value": "1.7.15-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.7.15-1+deb12u1",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.7.15-1+deb12u2",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.7.15-1+deb12u3",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.7.15-1+deb12u4",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.7.16-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.7.16-2",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.7.17-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.7.17-2",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.7.18-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.7.18-2",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.7.18-3",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.7.18-3.1",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.7.18-4",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.7.19-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.7.19-2",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "name": {
          "value": "cjson",
          "evidence": "/affected/1/package/name"
        },
        "prerequisites": [],
        "fixed_versions": [],
        "affected_versions": [
          {
            "value": "1.7.18-3.1",
            "evidence": "/affected/1/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.7.18-3.1+deb13u1",
            "evidence": "/affected/1/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.7.18-4",
            "evidence": "/affected/1/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.7.19-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/1/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.7.19-2",
            "evidence": "/affected/1/versions"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "name": {
          "value": "cjson",
          "evidence": "/affected/2/package/name"
        },
        "prerequisites": [],
        "fixed_versions": [],
        "affected_versions": [
          {
            "value": "1.7.18-3.1",
            "evidence": "/affected/2/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.7.18-4",
            "evidence": "/affected/2/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.7.19-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/2/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.7.19-2",
            "evidence": "/affected/2/versions"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "severity": "high",
    "structured": {
      "id": "DEBIAN-CVE-2026-67216",
      "aliases": [
        "DEBIAN-CVE-2026-67216"
      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "type": "CVSS_V3",
          "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
        }
      ],
      "affected": [
        {
          "ranges": [
            {
              "type": "ECOSYSTEM",
              "events": [
                {
                  "introduced": "0"
                }
              ]
            }
          ],
          "package": {
            "name": "cjson",
            "purl": "pkg:deb/debian/cjson?arch=source&distro=bookworm",
            "ecosystem": "Debian:12"
          },
          "versions": [
            "1.7.15-1",
            "1.7.15-1+deb12u1",
            "1.7.15-1+deb12u2",
            "1.7.15-1+deb12u3",
            "1.7.15-1+deb12u4",
            "1.7.16-1",
            "1.7.16-2",
            "1.7.17-1",
            "1.7.17-2",
            "1.7.18-1",
            "1.7.18-2",
            "1.7.18-3",
            "1.7.18-3.1",
            "1.7.18-4",
            "1.7.19-1",
            "1.7.19-2"
          ],
          "database_specific": {
            "source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/debian-osv/debian-cve-osv/DEBIAN-CVE-2026-67216.json"
          },
          "ecosystem_specific": {
            "urgency": "not yet assigned"
          }
        },
        {
          "ranges": [
            {
              "type": "ECOSYSTEM",
              "events": [
                {
                  "introduced": "0"
                }
              ]
            }
          ],
          "package": {
            "name": "cjson",
            "purl": "pkg:deb/debian/cjson?arch=source&distro=trixie",
            "ecosystem": "Debian:13"
          },
          "versions": [
            "1.7.18-3.1",
            "1.7.18-3.1+deb13u1",
            "1.7.18-4",
            "1.7.19-1",
            "1.7.19-2"
          ],
          "database_specific": {
            "source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/debian-osv/debian-cve-osv/DEBIAN-CVE-2026-67216.json"
          },
          "ecosystem_specific": {
            "urgency": "not yet assigned"
          }
        },
        {
          "ranges": [
            {
              "type": "ECOSYSTEM",
              "events": [
                {
                  "introduced": "0"
                }
              ]
            }
          ],
          "package": {
            "name": "cjson",
            "purl": "pkg:deb/debian/cjson?arch=source&distro=forky",
            "ecosystem": "Debian:14"
          },
          "versions": [
            "1.7.18-3.1",
            "1.7.18-4",
            "1.7.19-1",
            "1.7.19-2"
          ],
          "database_specific": {
            "source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/debian-osv/debian-cve-osv/DEBIAN-CVE-2026-67216.json"
          },
          "ecosystem_specific": {
            "urgency": "not yet assigned"
          }
        }
      ],
      "modified": "2026-10-24T09:47:36.772854875Z",
      "provider": "osv",
      "upstream": [
        "CVE-2026-67216"
      ],
      "references": [
        "https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-67216"
      ]
    },
    "related_cves": [
      {
        "value": "CVE-2026-67216",
        "evidence": "/upstream"
      }
    ],
    "security_relevant": true,
    "severity_evidence": "/severity/0/score"
  },
  "source_id": "core-osv",
  "document_id": 429051,
  "published_at": "2026-07-29T14:16:35.333+00:00"
}