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joserfc — security advisory

Type: advisorySources: OSVAdvisory ID: UBUNTU-CVE-2026-27932

joserfc is a Python library that provides an implementation of several JSON Object Signing and Encryption (JOSE) standards. In 1.6.2 and earlier, a resource exhaustion vulnerability in joserfc allows an unauthenticated attacker to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) via CPU exhaustion. When the library decrypts a JSON Web Encryption (JWE) token using Password-Based Encryption (PBES2) algorithms, it reads the p2c (PBES2 Count) parameter directly from the token's protected header. This parameter defines the number of iterations for the PBKDF2 key derivation function. Because joserfc does not validate or bound this value, an attacker can specify an extremely large iteration count (e.g., 2^31 - 1), forcing the server to expend massive CPU resources processing a single token. This vulnerability exists at the JWA layer and impacts all high-level JWE and JWT decryption interfaces if PBES2 algorithms are allowed by the application's policy.

Products
joserfc
Affected versions
1.0.4-1, 1.1.0-1, 1.2.0-1, 1.2.2-1, 1.4.0-1, 1.4.1-1, 1.4.3-1, 1.5.0-1, 1.6.2-1, 1.6.5-1, 1.6.8-1, 1.7.0-1, 1.7.1-1, 1.7.2-1, 1.7.4-1
Fixed versions
Not specified
CVEs
CVE-2026-27932
Confirmed fixed CVEs
Not specified
Updated in this feed
31 Oct 2026, 02:06 UTC · Revision 1

Source evidence

UBUNTU-CVE-2026-27932

core-osv · Original source

Published 3 Mar 2026, 23:15 UTC

joserfc is a Python library that provides an implementation of several JSON Object Signing and Encryption (JOSE) standards. In 1.6.2 and earlier, a resource exhaustion vulnerability in joserfc allows an unauthenticated attacker to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) via CPU exhaustion. When the library decrypts a JSON Web Encryption (JWE) token using Password-Based Encryption (PBES2) algorithms, it reads the p2c (PBES2 Count) parameter directly from the token's protected header. This parameter defines the number of iterations for the PBKDF2 key derivation function. Because joserfc does not validate or bound this value, an attacker can specify an extremely large iteration count (e.g., 2^31 - 1), forcing the server to expend massive CPU resources processing a single token. This vulnerability exists at the JWA layer and impacts all high-level JWE and JWT decryption interfaces if PBES2 algorithms are allowed by the application's policy.

osv:UBUNTU-CVE-2026-27932

joserfc

Fixed versions: Not specified

joserfc

Fixed versions: Not specified

joserfc

Fixed versions: Not specified

Complete source record
{
  "id": "5b2aeec3d7050fd72b837fa8ad7ce99a0968185fcaceb2e54c6b530844dc0943",
  "url": "https://osv.dev/vulnerability/UBUNTU-CVE-2026-27932",
  "method": "structured",
  "payload": {
    "kind": "advisory",
    "title": "UBUNTU-CVE-2026-27932",
    "summary": "joserfc is a Python library that provides an implementation of several JSON Object Signing and Encryption (JOSE) standards. In 1.6.2 and earlier, a resource exhaustion vulnerability in joserfc allows an unauthenticated attacker to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) via CPU exhaustion. When the library decrypts a JSON Web Encryption (JWE) token using Password-Based Encryption (PBES2) algorithms, it reads the p2c (PBES2 Count) parameter directly from the token's protected header. This parameter defines the number of iterations for the PBKDF2 key derivation function. Because joserfc does not validate or bound this value, an attacker can specify an extremely large iteration count (e.g., 2^31 - 1), forcing the server to expend massive CPU resources processing a single token. This vulnerability exists at the JWA layer and impacts all high-level JWE and JWT decryption interfaces if PBES2 algorithms are allowed by the application's policy.",
    "evidence": "osv:UBUNTU-CVE-2026-27932",
    "products": [
      {
        "name": {
          "value": "joserfc",
          "evidence": "/affected/0/package/name"
        },
        "prerequisites": [],
        "fixed_versions": [],
        "affected_versions": [
          {
            "value": "1.0.4-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.1.0-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.2.0-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.2.2-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "name": {
          "value": "joserfc",
          "evidence": "/affected/1/package/name"
        },
        "prerequisites": [],
        "fixed_versions": [],
        "affected_versions": [
          {
            "value": "1.6.2-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/1/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.6.5-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/1/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.6.8-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/1/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.7.0-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/1/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.7.1-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/1/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.7.2-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/1/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.7.4-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/1/versions"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "name": {
          "value": "joserfc",
          "evidence": "/affected/2/package/name"
        },
        "prerequisites": [],
        "fixed_versions": [],
        "affected_versions": [
          {
            "value": "1.2.2-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/2/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.4.0-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/2/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.4.1-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/2/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.4.3-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/2/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.5.0-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/2/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "1.6.2-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/2/versions"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "severity": "high",
    "structured": {
      "id": "UBUNTU-CVE-2026-27932",
      "aliases": [
        "UBUNTU-CVE-2026-27932"
      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "type": "CVSS_V3",
          "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
        },
        {
          "type": "Ubuntu",
          "score": "medium"
        }
      ],
      "affected": [
        {
          "ranges": [
            {
              "type": "ECOSYSTEM",
              "events": [
                {
                  "introduced": "0"
                }
              ]
            }
          ],
          "package": {
            "name": "joserfc",
            "purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/joserfc?arch=source&distro=questing",
            "ecosystem": "Ubuntu:25.10"
          },
          "versions": [
            "1.0.4-1",
            "1.1.0-1",
            "1.2.0-1",
            "1.2.2-1"
          ],
          "database_specific": {
            "source": "https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices/blob/main/osv/cve/2026/UBUNTU-CVE-2026-27932.json"
          },
          "ecosystem_specific": {
            "binaries": [
              {
                "binary_name": "python3-joserfc",
                "binary_version": "1.2.2-1"
              }
            ]
          }
        },
        {
          "ranges": [
            {
              "type": "ECOSYSTEM",
              "events": [
                {
                  "introduced": "0"
                }
              ]
            }
          ],
          "package": {
            "name": "joserfc",
            "purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/joserfc?arch=source&distro=stonking",
            "ecosystem": "Ubuntu:26.10"
          },
          "versions": [
            "1.6.2-1",
            "1.6.5-1",
            "1.6.8-1",
            "1.7.0-1",
            "1.7.1-1",
            "1.7.2-1",
            "1.7.4-1"
          ],
          "database_specific": {
            "source": "https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices/blob/main/osv/cve/2026/UBUNTU-CVE-2026-27932.json"
          },
          "ecosystem_specific": {
            "binaries": [
              {
                "binary_name": "python3-joserfc",
                "binary_version": "1.7.4-1"
              }
            ]
          }
        },
        {
          "ranges": [
            {
              "type": "ECOSYSTEM",
              "events": [
                {
                  "introduced": "0"
                }
              ]
            }
          ],
          "package": {
            "name": "joserfc",
            "purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/joserfc?arch=source&distro=resolute",
            "ecosystem": "Ubuntu:26.04:LTS"
          },
          "versions": [
            "1.2.2-1",
            "1.4.0-1",
            "1.4.1-1",
            "1.4.3-1",
            "1.5.0-1",
            "1.6.2-1"
          ],
          "database_specific": {
            "source": "https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices/blob/main/osv/cve/2026/UBUNTU-CVE-2026-27932.json"
          },
          "ecosystem_specific": {
            "binaries": [
              {
                "binary_name": "python3-joserfc",
                "binary_version": "1.6.2-1"
              }
            ]
          }
        }
      ],
      "modified": "2026-10-17T12:58:07.592881037Z",
      "provider": "osv",
      "upstream": [
        "CVE-2026-27932"
      ],
      "references": [
        "https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-27932",
        "https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-27932",
        "https://github.com/authlib/joserfc/security/advisories/GHSA-w5r5-m38g-f9f9",
        "https://github.com/authlib/joserfc/commit/696a9611ab982c45ee2190ed79ca8e1d8e09398f"
      ]
    },
    "related_cves": [
      {
        "value": "CVE-2026-27932",
        "evidence": "/upstream"
      }
    ],
    "security_relevant": true,
    "severity_evidence": "/severity/0/score"
  },
  "source_id": "core-osv",
  "document_id": 358170,
  "published_at": "2026-03-03T23:15:00+00:00"
}