CVE-2026-48040: netty netty-incubator-codec-ohttp Out-of-bounds Read

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2026-48040 is a critical (CVSS 9.1) Out-of-bounds Read vulnerability in netty netty-incubator-codec-ohttp. EPSS estimates a 0.29% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 19.8% of scored vulnerabilities.

Timeline

1. 04-06-2026
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 04-06-2026
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

The netty incubator codec.bhttp is a java language binary http parser. The library implements Oblivious HTTP (RFC 9458) using BoringSSL's HPKE C library via JNI. When deriving native memory addresses for cryptographic operations versions prior to 0.0.22.Final provide a fallback path for direct ByteBufs that do not expose their memory address through `hasMemoryAddress()`. This fallback occurs when `sun.misc.Unsafe` is unavailable to Netty — for example, when the JVM is started with `-Dio.netty.noUnsafe=true`, when a SecurityManager restricts Unsafe access, or when running on non-HotSpot JVMs. In these configurations, Netty's default `PooledByteBufAllocator` returns `PooledDirectByteBuf` instances for which `hasMemoryAddress()` returns false. Under the enabling JVM configuration, an unauthenticated network attacker can cause the OHTTP gateway to corrupt memory belonging to other concurrent connections and disclose the contents of adjacent pooled direct buffers by triggering cryptographic operations with crafted OHTTP requests. The corruption occurs regardless of whether the AEAD tag verification succeeds, as BoringSSL zeroizes the output buffer on failure. The information disclosure path provides the attacker with the encryption key needed to extract the leaked data. This violates the confidentiality and integrity of all connections sharing the same Netty buffer arena. Version 0.0.22.Final fixes the issue.

• CWE-125Out-of-bounds ReadThe product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.
• CWE-787Out-of-bounds WriteThe product writes data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.