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CVE Record

CVE-2026-48006: Netty's Lack of Lifecycle Cleanup Leads to Pooled ByteBuf Leak in RedisArrayAggregator

Netty is a network application framework for development of protocol servers and clients. Prior to versions 4.1.135.Final and 4.2.15.Final, the RedisArrayAggregator handler permanently leaks pooled direct-memory buffers when a Redis pipeline connection closes before a RESP array aggregate completes. The handler retains child messages in per-handler state (`depths` field) but defines no `channelInactive`, `handlerRemoved`, or `exceptionCaught` method to release them when the pipeline tears down. Because the leaked buffers are slices of `PooledByteBufAllocator` chunks, they prevent those chunks from being returned to the JVM-wide direct-memory pool. Repeated connection churn by any network peer monotonically drains this shared pool, eventually causing allocation failures on all Netty channels in the process. Versions 4.1.135.Final and 4.2.15.Final patch the issue.

HighCVSS 8.7Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

A flaw in Netty can let repeated interrupted Redis protocol connections leak off-heap memory until the Java process can no longer allocate buffers. The business impact is availability: services using the affected Redis aggregation path may fail or degrade under network-driven churn.

Executive priority

Treat as a high-priority availability risk for internet-facing or shared Java services using Netty Redis handling. Prioritize patching exposed services first, then dependent internal services with high operational criticality.

Technical view

Before Netty 4.1.135.Final and 4.2.15.Final, RedisArrayAggregator retained pooled child ByteBuf messages but lacked cleanup on channel inactivity, handler removal, or exceptions. Incomplete RESP arrays could leave pooled direct-memory slices unreleased, draining the shared allocator pool and causing process-wide allocation failures.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely in Java services using affected Netty versions with RedisArrayAggregator or related Redis pipeline handling reachable by untrusted or unreliable peers. Netty deployments not using this handler path may have limited practical exposure.

Exploitation context

The source bundle marks KEV as false and provides no evidence of active exploitation. The CVSS vector indicates network access, low complexity, no privileges, and no user interaction, with high availability impact.

Researcher notes

The root issue is missing lifecycle release for retained pooled buffers in RedisArrayAggregator state. Evidence supports a denial-of-service memory leak, not confidentiality or integrity compromise. Supplied sources do not include exploit code or confirmed exploitation.

Mitigation direction

  • Upgrade Netty to 4.1.135.Final or 4.2.15.Final.
  • Apply listed Red Hat errata where Red Hat packages provide Netty.
  • Restrict Redis protocol endpoints from untrusted network peers where feasible.
  • Monitor direct-memory pressure and Netty allocation failures until patched.
  • Check vendor guidance if upgrade timing or product impact is unclear.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory applications and dependencies for affected Netty versions.
  • Confirm whether RedisArrayAggregator is used in reachable code paths.
  • Verify runtime dependency resolution, not only declared build files.
  • Review logs and metrics for direct-memory exhaustion symptoms.
  • Confirm fixed versions are deployed after remediation.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
8

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

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cwe · low confidence lookup

CWE-401: Exact CWE lookup

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cwe · low confidence lookup

CWE-772: Exact CWE lookup

Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2026-48006 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
High
CVSS
8.7 (4.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

2CVSS vectors
5Timeline events
2ADP providers
9Source links

SSVC decision data

CISA-ADPCISA Coordinator
Timestamp
Version
2.0.3
Exploitation: noneAutomatable: yesTechnical Impact: partial

CVSS vector scores

2 official scores

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
8.7CVSS 4.0HighCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N——GitHub_M
7.5CVSS 3.1HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H3.93.6redhat-SADP

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 4.0 score

8.7High
CVSS 4.0 vector shape for CVE-2026-48006Attack VectorAttack ComplexityAttack RequirementsPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionVS ConfidentialityVS IntegrityVS AvailabilitySS ConfidentialitySS IntegritySS Availability

Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Attack Requirements
NonePresent
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NonePassiveActive
VS Confidentiality
HighLowNone
VS Integrity
HighLowNone
VS Availability
HighLowNone
SS Confidentiality
HighLowNone
SS Integrity
HighLowNone
SS Availability
HighLowNone

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. ADP timelineredhat-SADP

    Made public.

  3. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  4. ADP timelineredhat-SADP

    Reported to Red Hat.

  5. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

ADP provider summaries

CISA-ADPCISA ADP Vulnrichment
other:ssvc
redhat-SADPnetty-codec-redis: Netty's Lack of Lifecycle Cleanup Leads to Pooled ByteBuf Leak in RedisArrayAggregator
other:Red Hat severity ratingcvssV3_1
  • 2026-06-12T16:02:27.195Z: Reported to Red Hat.
  • 2026-06-12T14:36:44.416Z: Made public.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
nettynetty>= 4.2.0.Final, < 4.2.15.Final, < 4.1.135.FinalListed
Weakness

CWE details

CWE-401CWE-772

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.

CWE-401 · source CWE mapping

Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime

Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.

Open CWE intelligenceSame-CWE CVEs
CWE-772 · source CWE mapping

Missing Release of Resource after Effective Lifetime

Missing Release of Resource after Effective Lifetime represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.

Open CWE intelligenceSame-CWE CVEs