CVE-2026-48525 PUBLISHED

PyJWT: Unauthenticated DoS via unbounded Base64URL decoding of unused payload segment in b64=false detached JWS

Assigner: GitHub_M
Reserved: 21.05.2026 Published: 28.05.2026 Updated: 28.05.2026

PyJWT is a JSON Web Token implementation in Python. From 2.8.0 to 2.12.1, when verifying detached JWS tokens using the unencoded-payload option ("b64": false, RFC 7797), PyJWT performs Base64URL decoding of the compact-serialization payload segment before enforcing the detached-payload rules. For b64=false, PyJWT later discards that decoded payload and replaces it with the caller-provided detached_payload. In practice, this turns the middle segment into an attacker-controlled “work amplifier”: a remote client can supply an arbitrarily large Base64URL payload segment that forces CPU work + memory allocations even if the signature is invalid. This creates an unauthenticated DoS vector against any endpoint that verifies detached JWS using PyJWT. This vulnerability is fixed in 2.13.0.

Metrics

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
CVSS Score: 5.3

Product Status

Vendor jpadilla
Product pyjwt
Versions
  • Version >= 2.8.0, < 2.13.0 is affected

References

Problem Types

  • CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption CWE