CVE-2026-48038

Workarounds

Try/catch the validation to avoid uncaught exceptions.

References

• Pull request: hapijs/joi#3113

Denial of service via untrapped exception in services validating user-supplied JSON / object input with recursive link schemas.

The blast radius depends on how the application invokes joi:

• Highest impact: validate() called without try/catch in a request handler would cause an unhandled exception, potentially crashing the process.
• Lower impact: validateAsync() or validate() inside a try/catch, the validation fails, but the error type is RangeError rather than a structured ValidationError, complicating error handling.

Crafted input forces the application to consume excessive CPU, memory, or other resources, degrading or denying service. Typical impact: denial of service.

CVE-2026-48038 has a CVSS score of 5.3 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, no 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 (18.2.1, 17.13.4); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

Upgrade to version >= 18.2.1.

1. What is CVE-2026-48038? CVE-2026-48038 is a medium-severity uncontrolled resource consumption vulnerability in joi (npm), affecting versions >= 18.0.0, < 18.2.1. It is fixed in 18.2.1, 17.13.4. Crafted input forces the application to consume excessive CPU, memory, or other resources, degrading or denying service.
2. How severe is CVE-2026-48038? CVE-2026-48038 has a CVSS score of 5.3 (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 joi are affected by CVE-2026-48038? joi (npm) versions >= 18.0.0, < 18.2.1 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2026-48038? Yes. CVE-2026-48038 is fixed in 18.2.1, 17.13.4. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2026-48038 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-48038 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-2026-48038 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-2026-48038?
   • Upgrade joi to 18.2.1 or later
   • Upgrade joi to 17.13.4 or later