CVE-2026-54898: ohler55 oj Use After Free

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2026-54898 is a low (CVSS 2.1) Use After Free vulnerability in ohler55 oj. EPSS estimates a 0.15% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 3.4% of scored vulnerabilities.

Timeline

1. 30-06-2026
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 01-07-2026
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

Oj (Optimized JSON) is a JSON parser and Object marshaller packaged as a Ruby gem. In versions prior to 3.17.2,Oj::Parser#parse is vulnerable to a heap use-after-free when a SAJ/SAJ2 callback mutates the input JSON string during parsing. The C engine holds a raw const byte * pointer into the Ruby string's internal buffer. If a callback (e.g. hash_start) resizes the string — for example by calling String#replace with a longer value — Ruby reallocates the string buffer and frees the old one. The C parser's pointer is left dangling; the next character read at parser.c:607 is a use-after-free. This issue has been fixed in version 3.17.2.

• CWE-416Use After FreeThe product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.