CVE-2026-45409
MediumCVSS 5.3Exploitation Probability (EPSS)
Low risk33th percentile - higher than 33% of all known CVEs
Summary
Vulnerability in the IDNA library for Python (versions prior to 3.15) to DoS via specially crafted domains. Payloads like `"\u0660" * N` or `"\u30fb" * N + "\u6f22"` use the `valid_contexto` function before length rejection, causing long processing times for high N. This is similar to CVE-2024-3651 but the original fix was incomplete. Version 3.14 introduced early rejection of long inputs, and 3.15 extended this to other functions. A workaround is to enforce a 253-character limit before passing the domain to `idna.encode()`.
Risk Assessment
An attacker can cause significant resource consumption (DoS) by sending a long, crafted string to the `idna.encode()` function, potentially slowing or crashing the application.
Recommendation
Upgrade the idna library to version 3.15 or later. As a workaround, enforce a domain length limit (253 characters) before calling `idna.encode()`.
Other vulnerabilities in idna
Original NVD description (English source)
Internationalized Domain Names in Applications (IDNA) for Python provides support for Internationalized Domain Names in Applications (IDNA) and Unicode IDNA Compatibility Processing. In versions prior to 3.15, payloads such as `"\u0660" * N` or `"\u30fb" * N + "\u6f22"` utilize the `valid_contexto` function prior to length rejection, and for high values of `N` will take a long time to process. This is the same issue as CVE-2024-3651, however the original remediation in 2024 was not a complete fix. A specially crafted argument to the `idna.encode()` function could consume significant resources. This may lead to a denial-of-service. Starting in version 3.14, the function rejects long inputs as soon as practicable prior to any further processing to minimize resource consumption. In version 3.15, this approach was extended to lesser used alternate functions (i.e. per-label conversions and codec support). A workaround is available. Domain names cannot exceed 253 characters in length. If this length limit is enforced prior to passing the domain to the `idna.encode()` function, it should no longer consume significant resources. This is triggered by arbitrarily large inputs that would not occur in normal usage, but may be passed to the library assuming there is no preliminary input validation by the higher-level application.
Vulnerability data from NVD (NIST) · CISA KEV · EPSS

