# CVE-2026-73089: Browserslist: Unbounded memory growth (no cache eviction) via distinct query results, leading to eventual OOM

> An attacker can cause an out-of-memory crash in Browserslist by supplying distinct query inputs that bypass cache limits, affecting applications using the library.

- **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:** 11 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 13 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** CLEANSTART-2026-IH43299, CLEANSTART-2026-LC51656, CLEANSTART-2026-NW83834, CLSA-2026-1790175511, CLSA-2026-1790175574, CLSA-2026-1790950178, CLSA-2026-1790965158, CLSA-2026-1791199397, CLSA-2026-1792508656, CLSA-2026-1793111870, CLSA-2026-1793183890, CLSA-2026-1793187937, CLSA-2026-1793207044, CLSA-2026-1793209361, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-73089, GHSA-c83g-rgw3-j3cx, MINI-5mp3-v5x8-7vr7, MINI-8958-7fwr-r9h8, MINI-cjhq-cf6h-p853, MINI-fcph-3x5m-4c9r, MINI-g63f-5f2g-h7xm, MINI-h45c-m78v-6h9j, MINI-hwp7-qm52-8pvm, MINI-jj6h-cfmr-hq78, MINI-pjr9-7mvm-8x4j, MINI-pqg3-4h87-f3fx, MINI-vrqj-7h4x-vrvr, MINI-w78g-w9c6-mhpw, MINI-wghw-h38w-chhg, MINI-wm87-p658-496f, MINI-x99r-3jpw-qjjf, ROOT-APP-NPM-CVE-2026-73089, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-73089

## What is CVE-2026-73089?

CVE-2026-73089 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in browserslist, published on 11 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Browserslist is a configuration tool for sharing target browsers and Node.js versions between front-end tools. Prior to 4.28.7, index.js retains every distinct `(queries, context)` result in cache and every parseQueries() AST in parseCache without a size cap, TTL, or eviction, allowing an attacker who can influence repeated browserslist() query values, including valid since `<year>-<month>-<day>` queries, to bypass the caller-controlled BROWSERSLIST_DISABLE_CACHE mitigation and cause linear memory growth followed by an out-of-memory process crash. This issue is fixed in version 4.28.7.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-73089?

2 open source packages ship an affected version, including browserslist.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `browserslist` | npm | All versions | 4.28.7 |
| `browserslist` | npm | All versions | 4.28.7 |

## How do I fix CVE-2026-73089?

Upgrade browserslist to 4.28.7 or later.

## Is CVE-2026-73089 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-73089 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-73089 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-73089 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in browserslist, published on 11 Aug 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-2026-73089 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- browserslist (npm): affected all versions; fixed in 4.28.7
- browserslist (npm): affected all versions; fixed in 4.28.7

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-2026-73089/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-73089/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-73089
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-73089
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-73089

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-73089/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.