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Fencer Intel
high 8.7

CVE-2026-81636 json

Query-complexity limit bypass via first/last pagination arguments in AshGraphql enables denial of service

published 2mo ago modified 2mo ago also EEF-CVE-2026-81636 , EUVD-2026-68286 , GHSA-mwc4-r9fc-h6mg

cvss
8.7
version 4.0, CNA
cisa kev
Not listed
not in CISA's catalog
epss
0.6%
EPSS 0.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 46%
public exploits
0
none known

Summary

Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling vulnerability in ash-project ash_graphql allows an unauthenticated client to bypass the configured GraphQL query-complexity limit and force an unbounded database read.

AshGraphql.Graphql.Resolver.query_complexity/3 multiplies child complexity by the requested page size only when the argument map contains :limit (offset pagination). Relay connections and keyset pagination use first and last, which never match that clause and fall through to the catch-all that returns child_complexity + 1. A nested relay query such as posts(first: 500) { edges { node { comments(first: 500) { ... } } } } therefore scores as trivially cheap while materializing the full fan-out, passing an Absinthe max_complexity cap that rejects the equivalent limit-based query. The fix adds first and last clauses clamped to the action's page size.

This issue affects ash_graphql: from 0.16.23 before 1.11.0.

Patch / fix

  • hex ash_graphql 1.11.0
  • ash-project ash_graphql 1.11.0

Is CVE-2026-81636 in your dependencies? Fencer shows which of your repositories are affected as soon as an advisory lands, and opens the fix as a pull request.

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CISA SSVC

Exploitation
Proof of concept is public
Automatable
yes
Technical impact
partial
Assessed
2mo ago

Exploit prediction

0.55% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 46% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-11).

Exploits and checks

  • github.com https://github.com/ash-project/ash_graphql/security/advisories/GHSA-mwc4-r9fc-h6mg referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
CNA 4.0 8.7 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
CNA 4.0 8.7 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/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

Affected packages

ecosystem package affected fixed in
hex ash_graphql
>=0.16.23, <1.11.0
1.11.0

Affected products

  • ash-project ash_graphql

Classification

Weakness
  • CWE-770 Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling

References

Sources

Fencer Intel keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.

The maintainers of ash-project/ash_graphql published their own advisory on GitHub. Reviewed sources take precedence over it.

CPEs and fixed versions use Anchore's correction of NVD's data: Added CPE configurations because not yet analyzed by NVD.