CVE-2026-78594: Improper Handling of Highly Compressed Data in APM Server Leading to Persistent Denial of Service

Published Sep 2, 2026
·
Updated

Improper Handling of Highly Compressed Data (CWE-409) in APM Server can lead to a persistent denial of service via Excessive Allocation (CAPEC-130). An authenticated user with write access to source map content could store specially crafted, highly compressed content that exhausts the memory available to APM Server when it is later processed, terminating the process. The condition recurs on every restart until the stored content is removed.

Affected Software

1 affected component
Elastic APM Server

Event History

Sep 2, 2026
CVE Published
via MITRE·02:43 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·02:43 PM
DescriptionSeverityWeakness
Data Sourced
via NVD·03:17 PM
DescriptionSeverityWeakness

Frequently Asked Questions

1

Who can exploit this issue?

An authenticated user needs write access to source map content. The issue is not described as exploitable by unauthenticated users or by users without that permission.

2

What happens after a successful exploit?

When APM Server later processes the crafted highly compressed source map content, excessive memory allocation can terminate the process. The denial of service persists across restarts because the malicious content remains stored.

3

What can be done if the server is already repeatedly failing after restart?

Remove the stored crafted source map content causing the condition. Restarting alone does not resolve the issue because processing the retained content triggers the failure again.

Contact

SecAlerts Pty Ltd.
132 Wickham Terrace
Fortitude Valley,
QLD 4006, Australia
info@secalerts.co
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