CVE-2026-47770

jq: stack overflow in deep structural equality

Published Jun 25, 2026 CVSS 4.0 · 6.8 Medium EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
jq is a command-line JSON processor. Prior to 1.8.2, comparing two sufficiently deeply nested arrays with the == operator exhausts the C stack on jq's ordinary command-line surface, resulting in denial of service via stack exhaustion (uncontrolled recursion). The crash occurs in jq's recursive structural comparison code, with the recursion repeating through jvp_array_equal() and jv_equal() in src/jv.c when comparing deeply nested arrays; a nearby sort comparator path through jv_cmp() in src/jv_aux.c overflows the stack at a larger nesting depth from the same missing recursion guard. Anyone running jq comparisons on attacker-controlled deeply nested JSON values, or embedding jq in a context where untrusted data can reach the == comparison path, is affected. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.8.2.

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record

Tracking

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Advisories

Source ID Title
Debian DLA Debian DLA DLA-4661-1 jq security update
Debian DLA Debian DLA DLA-4662-1 jq security update
Debian DSA Debian DSA DSA-6416-1 jq security update
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-770
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

threat_severity

Moderate

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Jqlang
Jqlang jq
Vendors & Products Jqlang
Jqlang jq
Type Values Removed Values Added
Description jq is a command-line JSON processor. Prior to 1.8.2, comparing two sufficiently deeply nested arrays with the == operator exhausts the C stack on jq's ordinary command-line surface, resulting in denial of service via stack exhaustion (uncontrolled recursion). The crash occurs in jq's recursive structural comparison code, with the recursion repeating through jvp_array_equal() and jv_equal() in src/jv.c when comparing deeply nested arrays; a nearby sort comparator path through jv_cmp() in src/jv_aux.c overflows the stack at a larger nesting depth from the same missing recursion guard. Anyone running jq comparisons on attacker-controlled deeply nested JSON values, or embedding jq in a context where untrusted data can reach the == comparison path, is affected. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.8.2.
Title jq: stack overflow in deep structural equality
Weaknesses CWE-674
References
Metrics cvssV4_0

{'score': 6.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N'}

Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
GitHub_M
Published
Updated
Jun 26, 2026, 6:42 PM
Reserved
May 19, 2026, 10:36 PM
Status
Analyzed
Published
Jun 25, 2026, 6:16 PM
Modified
Oct 25, 2026, 10:10 PM
Severity
Moderate
Public date
Jun 25, 2026, 5:22 PM