CVE-2026-50274

CVE-2026-50274 is a high-severity uncontrolled resource consumption vulnerability in github.com/DataDog/dd-trace-go (go), affecting versions <= 1.24.1. It is fixed in 2.8.1.

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Summary

dd-trace-go: Improper parsing of W3C baggage headers may lead to DoS

Workarounds

If users cannot upgrade immediately:

  1. Disable baggage extraction by removing baggage from DD_TRACE_PROPAGATION_STYLE (or DD_TRACE_PROPAGATION_STYLE_EXTRACT if set independently).
  2. Cap the maximum HTTP request header size at an upstream proxy or web server (for example, Apache LimitRequestFieldSize, Nginx large_client_header_buffers, Envoy max_request_headers_kb).

Resources

Related upstream advisories:
opentelemetry-go GHSA-mh2q-q3fh-2475
opentelemetry-dotnet GHSA-g94r-2vxg-569j

Impact

Datadog tracing libraries that implement W3C baggage propagation parse incoming baggage HTTP headers without enforcing item-count or byte-size limits on the extract path. The DD_TRACE_BAGGAGE_MAX_ITEMS (default 64) and DD_TRACE_BAGGAGE_MAX_BYTES (default 8192) limits were applied only to baggage injection, not extraction. A remote, unauthenticated attacker can send a request whose baggage header contains an arbitrarily large number of comma-separated key-value pairs (or a single very large value). The tracer allocates a hash-map entry for each pair on every request, causing unbounded CPU and memory consumption and enabling a remote Denial of Service against any HTTP service that has the baggage propagation style enabled.
The baggage propagation style is enabled by default in most affected tracers, so any internet-facing service that has been instrumented with an affected tracer version is exposed unless the propagation style has been explicitly narrowed.

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

CVE-2026-50274 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (High). 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 (2.8.1); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Affected versions

github.com/DataDog/dd-trace-go (<= 1.24.1) github.com/DataDog/dd-trace-go/v2 (< 2.8.1)

Security releases

github.com/DataDog/dd-trace-go/v2 → 2.8.1 (go)

Kodem intelligence

Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.

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. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.

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Remediation advice

This is resolved in version 2.8.1 and later of the dd-trace-go library.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What is CVE-2026-50274? CVE-2026-50274 is a high-severity uncontrolled resource consumption vulnerability in github.com/DataDog/dd-trace-go (go), affecting versions <= 1.24.1. It is fixed in 2.8.1. Crafted input forces the application to consume excessive CPU, memory, or other resources, degrading or denying service.
  2. How severe is CVE-2026-50274? CVE-2026-50274 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (High). 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 packages are affected by CVE-2026-50274?
    • github.com/DataDog/dd-trace-go (go) (versions <= 1.24.1)
    • github.com/DataDog/dd-trace-go/v2 (go) (versions < 2.8.1)
  4. Is there a fix for CVE-2026-50274? Yes. CVE-2026-50274 is fixed in 2.8.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
  5. Is CVE-2026-50274 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-50274 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-2026-50274 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-2026-50274? Upgrade github.com/DataDog/dd-trace-go/v2 to 2.8.1 or later.

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