# CVE-2026-97394: kin-openapi: Nil-pointer dereference panic in openapi3filter for OpenAPI 3.1 array schemas missing items


- **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
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 20 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-p6wj-qrr4-pgh5, MINI-2xg6-xx4c-8mh4, MINI-35gp-vm5m-g56h, MINI-3j9p-g58p-f2rp, MINI-58mq-64mv-hxp5, MINI-78xv-jf98-jfgc, MINI-7pf7-gr4w-j222, MINI-9p79-vq3c-8q7v, MINI-c8f6-pcrg-w962, MINI-p5rg-gfh3-9gr5, MINI-rx9f-fx48-rcgm, MINI-x3gc-28v7-vrcq, MINI-x76x-hccw-mrcc, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97394

## What is CVE-2026-97394?

CVE-2026-97394 is a high-severity vulnerability in getkin kin-openapi, published on 15 Oct 2026. 

### Official description

kin-openapi is a Go project for handling OpenAPI files. From 0.136.0 until 0.143.0, openapi3filter accepts OpenAPI 3.1 array schemas without an items keyword and then dereferences the nil Schema.Items value while decoding application/x-www-form-urlencoded or multipart/form-data request bodies, response headers, and other array parameter surfaces. A remote unauthenticated client can reach an affected operation with a nonempty request or matching response and deterministically trigger a nil-pointer panic during ValidateRequest or ValidateResponse. OpenAPI 3.0 documents are not affected because document validation rejects arrays without items, and JSON request bodies use a different decoder path. This issue is fixed in version 0.143.0.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference), CWE-248 (Uncaught Exception)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-97394?

2 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/getkin/kin-openapi.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `github.com/getkin/kin-openapi` | Go | From 0.136.0 | 0.143.0 |
| `github.com/getkin/kin-openapi` | Go | From 0.136.0 | 0.143.0 |

## How do I fix CVE-2026-97394?

Upgrade github.com/getkin/kin-openapi to 0.143.0 or later.

## Is CVE-2026-97394 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-97394 exists.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-97394 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-97394 is a high-severity vulnerability in getkin kin-openapi, published on 15 Oct 2026. 
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-97394 exists.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- github.com/getkin/kin-openapi (Go): affected from 0.136.0; fixed in 0.143.0
- github.com/getkin/kin-openapi (Go): affected from 0.136.0; fixed in 0.143.0

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-2026-97394/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-97394/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-97394
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97394
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-97394

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-97394/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.