CVE-2026-33947: jq: Unbounded Recursion in jv_setpath(), jv_getpath() and delpaths_sorted()

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2026-33947 is a medium (CVSS 6.2) Uncontrolled Recursion vulnerability in jqlang jq. EPSS estimates a 0.23% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 14.4% of scored vulnerabilities. 1 public exploit is recorded.

Timeline

1. 13-04-2026
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 16-04-2026
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

jq is a command-line JSON processor. In versions 1.8.1 and below, functions jv_setpath(), jv_getpath(), and delpaths_sorted() in jq's src/jv_aux.c use unbounded recursion whose depth is controlled by the length of a caller-supplied path array, with no depth limit enforced. An attacker can supply a JSON document containing a flat array of ~65,000 integers (~200 KB) that, when used as a path argument by a trusted jq filter, exhausts the C call stack and crashes the process with a segmentation fault (SIGSEGV). This bypass works because the existing MAX_PARSING_DEPTH (10,000) limit only protects the JSON parser, not runtime path operations where arrays can be programmatically constructed to arbitrary lengths. The impact is denial of service (unrecoverable crash) affecting any application or service that processes untrusted JSON input through jq's setpath, getpath, or delpaths builtins. This issue has been addressed in commit fb59f1491058d58bdc3e8dd28f1773d1ac690a1f.

• CWE-674Uncontrolled RecursionThe product does not properly control the amount of recursion that takes place, consuming excessive resources, such as allocated memory or the program stack.