# CVE-2026-49485: HAPI FHIR: ReDoS via FHIRPath matches()/replaceMatches() in FHIR Validator HTTP Endpoint > An attacker can cause denial of service in HAPI FHIR applications by submitting malicious regular expressions in FHIRPath expressions. - **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`) - **Exploited in the wild:** Not known - **Login needed:** Not needed - **Attackable:** Over the internet - **Victim action needed:** Not needed - **Fix available:** Yes - **Published:** 17 Jul 2026 - **Updated:** 20 Jul 2026 - **Also known as:** GHSA-7cmj-v6x8-frvv, ROOT-APP-MAVEN-CVE-2026-49485 ## What is CVE-2026-49485? CVE-2026-49485 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in hapifhir org.hl7.fhir.core, published on 17 Jul 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim. ### Official description HAPI FHIR is a complete implementation of the HL7 FHIR standard for healthcare interoperability in Java. Prior to 6.9.9 and 6.9.4.2, all implementations of FHIRPathEngine accept arbitrary FHIRPath expressions and evaluate them without input validation, and the FHIRPath functions matches(), matchesFull(), and replaceMatches() pass user-controlled regular expressions to Java's Pattern.compile() and String.replaceAll() through an incomplete timeout utility. An attacker can send a resource containing an evil regex pattern that causes catastrophic backtracking, exhausting CPU resources and causing denial of service in the FHIR Validator HTTP endpoint and affected org.hl7.fhir.* modules. This issue is fixed in versions 6.9.9 and 6.9.4.2. Weakness: CWE-400 (Uncontrolled Resource Consumption), CWE-1333 (Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-49485? 32 open source packages ship an affected version, including ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2, ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2016may and ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu3. | Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2` | Maven | All versions | 6.9.4.2 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2` | Maven | All versions | 6.9.4.2 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2` | Maven | From 6.9.5 | 6.9.9 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2` | Maven | From 6.9.5 | 6.9.9 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2016may` | Maven | All versions | 6.9.4.2 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2016may` | Maven | All versions | 6.9.4.2 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2016may` | Maven | From 6.9.5 | 6.9.9 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2016may` | Maven | From 6.9.5 | 6.9.9 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu3` | Maven | All versions | 6.9.4.2 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu3` | Maven | All versions | 6.9.4.2 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu3` | Maven | From 6.9.5 | 6.9.9 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu3` | Maven | From 6.9.5 | 6.9.9 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r4` | Maven | All versions | 6.9.4.2 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r4` | Maven | All versions | 6.9.4.2 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r4` | Maven | From 6.9.5 | 6.9.9 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r4` | Maven | From 6.9.5 | 6.9.9 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r4b` | Maven | All versions | 6.9.4.2 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r4b` | Maven | All versions | 6.9.4.2 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r4b` | Maven | From 6.9.5 | 6.9.9 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r4b` | Maven | From 6.9.5 | 6.9.9 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r5` | Maven | All versions | 6.9.4.2 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r5` | Maven | All versions | 6.9.4.2 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r5` | Maven | From 6.9.5 | 6.9.9 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.r5` | Maven | From 6.9.5 | 6.9.9 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.validation` | Maven | All versions | 6.9.4.2 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.validation` | Maven | All versions | 6.9.4.2 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.validation` | Maven | From 6.9.5 | 6.9.9 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.validation` | Maven | From 6.9.5 | 6.9.9 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.validation.cli` | Maven | All versions | 6.9.4.2 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.validation.cli` | Maven | All versions | 6.9.4.2 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.validation.cli` | Maven | From 6.9.5 | 6.9.9 | | `ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.validation.cli` | Maven | From 6.9.5 | 6.9.9 | ## How do I fix CVE-2026-49485? Upgrade ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2 to a fixed version for your release line: 6.9.4.2 or 6.9.9. ## Is CVE-2026-49485 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-49485 in the wild and no public exploit code. ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2026-49485 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2026-49485 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in hapifhir org.hl7.fhir.core, published on 17 Jul 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim. Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-49485 in the wild and no public exploit code. Affected packages and fixed versions: - ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2 (Maven): affected all versions; fixed in 6.9.4.2 - ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2 (Maven): affected all versions; fixed in 6.9.4.2 - ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2 (Maven): affected from 6.9.5; fixed in 6.9.9 - ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2 (Maven): affected from 6.9.5; fixed in 6.9.9 - ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2016may (Maven): affected all versions; fixed in 6.9.4.2 - ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2016may (Maven): affected all versions; fixed in 6.9.4.2 - ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2016may (Maven): affected from 6.9.5; fixed in 6.9.9 - ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu2016may (Maven): affected from 6.9.5; fixed in 6.9.9 - ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu3 (Maven): affected all versions; fixed in 6.9.4.2 - ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu3 (Maven): affected all versions; fixed in 6.9.4.2 - ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu3 (Maven): affected from 6.9.5; fixed in 6.9.9 - ca.uhn.hapi.fhir:org.hl7.fhir.dstu3 (Maven): affected from 6.9.5; fixed in 6.9.9 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-2026-49485/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-49485/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-49485 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-49485 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-49485 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-49485/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.