# CVE-2026-48854: Unbounded request body accumulation causes memory exhaustion in elixir-grpc/grpc

> Unauthenticated attackers can crash the server by streaming large or slow request bodies, exhausting memory in the Elixir gRPC library.

- **Severity:** High 8.7 (`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`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 15 Jun 2026
- **Updated:** 24 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** EEF-CVE-2026-48854, GHSA-q8gf-9rvj-gmgj

## What is CVE-2026-48854?

CVE-2026-48854 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in elixir-grpc grpc, published on 15 Jun 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling vulnerability in elixir-grpc grpc allows unauthenticated attackers to exhaust the BEAM's memory and crash the server by streaming a large or slow-trickle unary request body.

'Elixir.GRPC.Server.Adapters.Cowboy.Handler':read_full_body/3 (lib/grpc/server/adapters/cowboy/handler.ex) accumulates every received chunk into a single growing binary with no size cap. Additionally, when the client omits the grpc-timeout header, the per-chunk read timeout resolves to :infinity, allowing a slow-trickle client to keep the connection alive indefinitely while memory grows. A single connection is sufficient to exhaust server memory and crash the node.

This issue affects grpc: from 0.3.0-alpha.2 before 1.0.0.

Weakness: CWE-770 (Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-48854?

3 open source packages ship an affected version, including grpc.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `grpc` | Hex | From 0.3.0-alpha.2 | 1.0.0 |
| `grpc` | Hex | From 0.3.1 | 1.0.0 |
| `grpc` | Hex | From 0.3.1 | 1.0.0 |

## How do I fix CVE-2026-48854?

Upgrade grpc to 1.0.0 or later.

## Is CVE-2026-48854 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-48854 exists.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-48854 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-48854 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in elixir-grpc grpc, published on 15 Jun 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-48854 exists.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- grpc (Hex): affected from 0.3.0-alpha.2; fixed in 1.0.0
- grpc (Hex): affected from 0.3.1; fixed in 1.0.0
- grpc (Hex): affected from 0.3.1; fixed in 1.0.0

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-48854/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-48854/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-48854
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-48854
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-48854

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-48854/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.