kafka-python prior to 2.3.2 Denial of Service via Protocol Parser Frame Length
Published Jun 10, 2026
8.7
HIGHCVSS 4.0
EPSS 0.35%
Description
kafka-python prior to 2.3.2 contains a denial-of-service vulnerability in the protocol parser that allows a malicious broker or machine-in-the-middle attacker to exhaust memory or hang connections by sending a crafted 4-byte frame length value without bounds validation. Attackers can send a specially crafted frame length through the receive_bytes() function to trigger either a multi-gigabyte memory allocation or an uncaught ValueError that leaves the connection in a broken state, causing requests to hang and consumers to stop heartbeating until restart.
Affected products
-
- Version 0StatusaffectedConstraints<2.3.2
- Version
Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).
| Vendor | Product | Default status | Versions | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dana Powers | Kafka-Python | n/a |
|
- < 2.3.2
No data.
Red Hat Quay 3
quay/quay-rhel8
Fix deferred
Red Hat Quay 3
quay/quay-rhel9
Fix deferred
| Product | Package | State | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Quay 3 | quay/quay-rhel8 | Fix deferred | n/a |
| Red Hat Quay 3 | quay/quay-rhel9 | Fix deferred | n/a |
No package ranges for this CVE.
Remediation
Red Hat statement
A flaw was found in kafka-python. The protocol parser does not validate frame length values, allowing a malicious broker or man-in-the-middle attacker to exhaust memory or hang connections by sending a crafted 4-byte frame length. This can cause multi-gigabyte memory allocation or leave connections in a broken state, causing consumers to stop heartbeating until restart.
Red Hat mitigation
Upgrade to kafka-python 2.3.2 or later. As a workaround, ensure Kafka broker connections use TLS with mutual authentication to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks.
Metrics
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
1 other source (NVD) ▾
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
1 other source (Red Hat) ▾
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
No CVSS v3.0 score for this CVE.
No CVSS v2.0 score for this CVE.
This CVE is not in the KEV list.
CISA SSVC (Vulnrichment)
Stakeholder-Specific Vulnerability Categorization from CISA ADP.
Exploitation
NoneAutomatable
YesTechnical Impact
PartialDecision
n/aAssessed Jun 11, 2026 · SSVC 2.0.3
Estimated probability of exploitation in the wild in the next 30 days (FIRST EPSS). As of Oct 3, 2026.
Score over time
Jun–Oct 2026- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Percentile over time
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Table of values (3 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 3, 2026 | 0.35% (0.00348) | 26.05th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 15, 2026 | 0.35% (0.00352) | 26.83th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 11, 2026 | 0.04% (0.00042) | 13.01th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
References (12)
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-10142 Vendor Advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2487704 Issue Tracking
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-m3px-q5gj-j9x7 Advisory
- https://github.com/dpkp/kafka-python/commit/6e4831444f972d169cdd11f5c8d50333cea3f19b patch
- https://github.com/dpkp/kafka-python/commit/9f92d0f53ecfee738c54638867c3d67f83017bca
- https://github.com/dpkp/kafka-python/pull/3019 issue-trackingIssue TrackingPatch
- https://github.com/dpkp/kafka-python/pull/3026 issue-trackingIssue TrackingPatch
- https://github.com/dpkp/kafka-python/releases/tag/2.3.2
- https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/kafka-python/PYSEC-2026-2190.yaml
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-10142
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-10142
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/kafka-python-prior-to-denial-of-service-via-protocol-parser-frame-length technical-descriptionthird-party-advisoryPatchThird Party Advisory
| Link | Providers | Tags |
|---|---|---|
| https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-10142 | Vendor Advisory | |
| https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2487704 | Issue Tracking | |
| https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-m3px-q5gj-j9x7 | Advisory | |
| https://github.com/dpkp/kafka-python/commit/6e4831444f972d169cdd11f5c8d50333cea3f19b | patch | |
| https://github.com/dpkp/kafka-python/commit/9f92d0f53ecfee738c54638867c3d67f83017bca | ||
| https://github.com/dpkp/kafka-python/pull/3019 | issue-trackingIssue TrackingPatch | |
| https://github.com/dpkp/kafka-python/pull/3026 | issue-trackingIssue TrackingPatch | |
| https://github.com/dpkp/kafka-python/releases/tag/2.3.2 | ||
| https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/kafka-python/PYSEC-2026-2190.yaml | ||
| https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-10142 | ||
| https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-10142 | ||
| https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/kafka-python-prior-to-denial-of-service-via-protocol-parser-frame-length | technical-descriptionthird-party-advisoryPatchThird Party Advisory |
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.