CVE-2026-112072: vault-java-driver: stored deeply nested JSON kills every thread that reads it
vault-java-driver, a Java client for HashiCorp Vault, parses Vault's JSON responses with a vendored minimal-json parser that has no nesting depth limit. A deeply nested value raises a StackOverflowError, which escapes catch (Exception) handlers and kills the reading thread. A Vault token that can write but not read a KV v2 path can store such a value there, so every later read of that path through the driver fails. This requires Vault 1.19.x or earlier, because 1.20 and later reject values nested deeper than 298 levels. This issue affects io.github.jopenlibs:vault-java-driver 5.2.0 through 6.2.3 and is fixed in 7.0.0.
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Upgrade
Upgrade
io.github.jopenlibs:vault-java-driverto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
Which deployments are exposed to this issue?
Deployments using io.github.jopenlibs:vault-java-driver versions 5.2.0 through 6.2.3 are affected when they read a poisoned Vault KV v2 path. Creating the payload also requires Vault 1.19.x or earlier; Vault 1.20 and later reject values nested more than 298 levels.
What access does an attacker need to cause the failure?
An attacker needs a Vault token permitted to write to a KV v2 path. The token does not need read access to that path; later reads through the affected Java driver trigger the failure.
What should be done if this affects an application?
Upgrade vault-java-driver to 7.0.0, which fixes the issue. Upgrading Vault to 1.20 or later also prevents new excessively nested values from being accepted.