# RUSTSEC-2026-0229: NIP-98 authorization parsing permits resource exhaustion

> Unauthenticated attackers can cause server memory and CPU exhaustion via oversized NIP-98 authorization headers in this Rust library.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 1 Aug 2026

## What is RUSTSEC-2026-0229?

RUSTSEC-2026-0229 is a denial of service vulnerability in nostr, published on 1 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The NIP-98 HTTP authorization parser Base64-decoded the complete authorization value
and parsed the resulting JSON event without applying an application-level size limit.
Both operations occurred before the event's signature and authorization fields could
be validated.

An unauthenticated remote client could send an oversized `Authorization: Nostr`
header to a server using this parser. Each request caused memory allocation and
decoding and JSON parsing work proportional to the supplied value, allowing repeated
requests to consume server memory and CPU. The impact depends on any lower HTTP header
limit already enforced by the hosting server. The issue does not bypass NIP-98
authentication or disclose protected data.

The parser now rejects oversized encoded input before Base64 allocation and rejects
decoded authorization events larger than 64 KiB before JSON parsing.

## Which versions are affected by RUSTSEC-2026-0229?

1 open source package ship an affected version, including nostr.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `nostr` | crates.io | From 0.0.0-0 | 0.44.7 |

## How do I fix RUSTSEC-2026-0229?

Upgrade nostr to 0.44.7 or later.

## Is RUSTSEC-2026-0229 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of RUSTSEC-2026-0229 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for RUSTSEC-2026-0229 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: RUSTSEC-2026-0229 is a denial of service vulnerability in nostr, published on 1 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 RUSTSEC-2026-0229 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- nostr (crates.io): affected from 0.0.0-0; fixed in 0.44.7

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/RUSTSEC-2026-0229/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/RUSTSEC-2026-0229/index.md)
```

## Sources

- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/RUSTSEC-2026-0229

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/RUSTSEC-2026-0229/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.