CVE-2026-55851

High

Description

Netty is a network application framework for development of protocol servers and clients. In versions 4.2.0.Final up to (but not including) 4.2.16.Final, and 4.1.0.Final up to (but not including) 4.1.135, the `HAProxyMessageDecoder` in Netty's `codec-haproxy` module performs protocol version detection by reading the 13th byte as a signed Java `byte` and widening it to `int` without masking; a PROXY protocol v2 binary prefix followed by version byte `0xFF` sign-extends to `-1`, collides with the decoder's need-more-data sentinel, and causes `ByteToMessageDecoder` to accumulate inbound bytes in an unbounded `cumulation` buffer until direct memory is exhausted. This issue is fixed in versions 4.1.136.Final and 4.2.16.Final.

SeverityHigh
CVSS7.5
Exploit probability—
ProductNetty
PublishedJul 21, 2026
First seenJul 21, 2026

How to fix

Update
  • netty netty4.1.136, 4.2.16 or later
  • io.netty:netty-codec-haproxy4.2.16.Final, 4.1.136.Final or later

Affected products

ProductAffected versionsFixed in
netty netty4.1.0 ≤ v < 4.1.136, 4.2.0 ≤ v < 4.2.164.1.136, 4.2.16
io.netty:netty-codec-haproxyMaven4.2.0.Final ≤ v < 4.2.16.Final, 4.1.0.Final ≤ v < 4.1.136.Final4.2.16.Final, 4.1.136.Final

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