Security Bulletin: Multiple vulnerabilities in IBM watsonx Orchestrate with watsonx Assistant Cartridge

Vulnerability Details

CVEID:   CVE-2026-2391
DESCRIPTION:   ### Summary The `arrayLimit` option in qs does not enforce limits for comma-separated values when `comma: true` is enabled, allowing attackers to cause denial-of-service via memory exhaustion. This is a bypass of the array limit enforcement, similar to the bracket notation bypass addressed in GHSA-6rw7-vpxm-498p (CVE-2025-15284). ### Details When the `comma` option is set to `true` (not the default, but configurable in applications), qs allows parsing comma-separated strings as arrays (e.g., `?param=a,b,c` becomes `['a', 'b', 'c']`). However, the limit check for `arrayLimit` (default: 20) and the optional throwOnLimitExceeded occur after the comma-handling logic in `parseArrayValue`, enabling a bypass. This permits creation of arbitrarily large arrays from a single parameter, leading to excessive memory allocation. **Vulnerable code** (lib/parse.js: lines ~40-50): ```js if (val && typeof val === 'string' && options.comma && val.indexOf(',') -1) {     return val.split(','); } if (options.throwOnLimitExceeded && currentArrayLength = options.arrayLimit) {     throw new RangeError('Array limit exceeded. Only ' + options.arrayLimit + ' element' + (options.arrayLimit === 1 ? '' : 's') + ' allowed in an array.'); } return val; ``` The `split(',')` returns the array immediately, skipping the subsequent limit check. Downstream merging via `utils.combine` does not prevent allocation, even if it marks overflows for sparse arrays.This discrepancy allows attackers to send a single parameter with millions of commas (e.g., `?param=,,,,,,,,...`), allocating massive arrays in memory without triggering limits. It bypasses the intent of `arrayLimit`, which is enforced correctly for indexed (`a[0]=`) and bracket (`a[]=`) notations (the latter fixed in v6.14.1 per GHSA-6rw7-vpxm-498p). ### PoC **Test 1 - Basic bypass:** ``` npm install qs ``` ```js const qs = require('qs'); const payload = 'a=' + ','.repeat(25); // 26 elements after split (bypasses arrayLimit: 5) const options = { comma: true, arrayLimit: 5, throwOnLimitExceeded: true }; try {   const result = qs.parse(payload, options);   console.log(result.a.length); // Outputs: 26 (bypass successful) } catch (e) {   console.log('Limit enforced:', e.message); // Not thrown } ``` **Configuration:** - `comma: true` - `arrayLimit: 5` - `throwOnLimitExceeded: true` Expected: Throws "Array limit exceeded" error. Actual: Parses successfully, creating an array of length 26. ### Impact Denial of Service (DoS) via memory exhaustion.
CWE:   CWE-20: Improper Input Validation
CVSS Source:   NVD
CVSS Base score:   7.5
CVSS Vector:   (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H)

CVEID:   CVE-2026-25547
DESCRIPTION:   @isaacs/brace-expansion is a hybrid CJS/ESM TypeScript fork of brace-expansion. Prior to version 5.0.1, @isaacs/brace-expansion is vulnerable to a denial of service (DoS) issue caused by unbounded brace range expansion. When an attacker provides a pattern containing repeated numeric brace ranges, the library attempts to eagerly generate every possible combination synchronously. Because the expansion grows exponentially, even a small input can consume excessive CPU and memory and may crash the Node.js process. This issue has been patched in version 5.0.1.
CWE:   CWE-1333: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity
CVSS Source:   security-advisories@github.com
CVSS Base score:   9.2
CVSS 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:H)

CVEID:   CVE-2026-25128
DESCRIPTION:   fast-xml-parser allows users to validate XML, parse XML to JS object, or build XML from JS object without C/C++ based libraries and no callback. In versions 5.0.9 through 5.3.3, a RangeError vulnerability exists in the numeric entity processing of fast-xml-parser when parsing XML with out-of-range entity code points (e.g., `陿` or ``). This causes the parser to throw an uncaught exception, crashing any application that processes untrusted XML input. Version 5.3.4 fixes the issue.
CWE:   CWE-20: Improper Input Validation
CVSS Source:   security-advisories@github.com
CVSS Base score:   7.5
CVSS Vector:   (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H)

CVEID:   CVE-2025-61140
DESCRIPTION:   The value function in jsonpath 1.1.1 lib/index.js is vulnerable to Prototype Pollution.
CWE:   CWE-1321: Improperly Controlled Modification of Object Prototype Attributes ('Prototype Pollution')
CVSS Source:   CISA ADP
CVSS Base score:   9.8
CVSS Vector:   (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H)

CVEID:   CVE-2026-1002
DESCRIPTION:   The Vert.x Web static handler component cache can be manipulated to deny the access to static files served by the handler using specifically crafted request URI. The issue comes from an improper implementation of the C. rule of section 5.2.4 of RFC3986 and is fixed in Vert.x Core component (used by Vert.x Web): https://github.com/eclipse-vertx/vert.x/pull/5895 Steps to reproduce Given a file served by the static handler, craft an URI that introduces a string like bar%2F..%2F after the last / char to deny the access to the URI with an HTTP 404 response. For example https://example.com/foo/index.html can be denied with https://example.com/foo/bar%2F..%2Findex.html Mitgation Disabling Static Handler cache fixes the issue. StaticHandler staticHandler = StaticHandler.create().setCachingEnabled(false);
CWE:   CWE-444: Inconsistent Interpretation of HTTP Requests ('HTTP Request/Response Smuggling')
CVSS Source:   NVD
CVSS Base score:   5.3
CVSS Vector:   (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L)

CVEID:   CVE-2025-66560
DESCRIPTION:   Quarkus is a Cloud Native, (Linux) Container First framework for writing Java applications. Prior to versions 3.31.0, 3.27.2, and 3.20.5, a vulnerability exists in the HTTP layer of Quarkus REST related to response handling. When a response is being written, the framework waits for previously written response chunks to be fully transmitted before proceeding. If the client connection is dropped during this waiting period, the associated worker thread is never released and becomes permanently blocked. Under sustained or repeated occurrences, this can exhaust the available worker threads, leading to degraded performance, or complete unavailability of the application. This issue has been patched in versions 3.31.0, 3.27.2, and 3.20.5. A workaround involves implementing a health check that monitors the status and saturation of the worker thread pool to detect abnormal thread retention early.
CWE:   CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling
CVSS Source:   NVD
CVSS Base score:   7.5
CVSS Vector:   (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H)

CVEID:   CVE-2025-68161
DESCRIPTION:   The Socket Appender in Apache Log4j Core versions 2.0-beta9 through 2.25.2 does not perform TLS hostname verification of the peer certificate, even when the verifyHostName https://logging.apache.org/log4j/2.x/manual/appenders/network.html#SslC… configuration attribute or the log4j2.sslVerifyHostName https://logging.apache.org/log4j/2.x/manual/systemproperties.html#log4j… system property is set to true. This issue may allow a man-in-the-middle attacker to intercept or redirect log traffic under the following conditions: * The attacker is able to intercept or redirect network traffic between the client and the log receiver. * The attacker can present a server certificate issued by a certification authority trusted by the Socket Appender’s configured trust store (or by the default Java trust store if no custom trust store is configured). Users are advised to upgrade to Apache Log4j Core version 2.25.3, which addresses this issue. As an alternative mitigation, the Socket Appender may be configured to use a private or restricted trust root to limit the set of trusted certificates.
CWE:   CWE-297: Improper Validation of Certificate with Host Mismatch
CVSS Source:   NVD
CVSS Base score:   4.8
CVSS Vector:   (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N)

CVEID:   CVE-2025-66453
DESCRIPTION:   Rhino is an open-source implementation of JavaScript written entirely in Java. Prior to 1.8.1, 1.7.15.1, and 1.7.14.1, when an application passed an attacker controlled float poing number into the toFixed() function, it might lead to high CPU consumption and a potential Denial of Service. Small numbers go through this call stack: NativeNumber.numTo DToA.JS_dtostr DToA.JS_dtoa DToA.pow5mult where pow5mult attempts to raise 5 to a ridiculous power. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.8.1, 1.7.15.1, and 1.7.14.1.
CWE:   CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
CVSS Source:   NVD
CVSS Base score:   7.5
CVSS Vector:   (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H)

CVEID:   CVE-2025-68470
DESCRIPTION:   React Router is a router for React. In versions 6.0.0 through 6.30.1 and 7.0.0 through 7.9.5, an attacker-supplied path can be crafted so that when a React Router application navigates to it via navigate(), Link, or redirect(), the app performs a navigation/redirect to an external URL. This is only an issue if you are passing untrusted content into navigation paths in your application code. This issue has been patched in versions 6.30.2 and 7.9.6.
CWE:   CWE-601: URL Redirection to Untrusted Site ('Open Redirect')
CVSS Source:   security-advisories@github.com
CVSS Base score:   6.5
CVSS Vector:   (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N)

CVEID:   CVE-2026-27837
DESCRIPTION:   Dottie provides nested object access and manipulation in JavaScript. Versions 2.0.4 through 2.0.6 contain an incomplete fix for CVE-2023-26132. The prototype pollution guard introduced in commit `7d3aee1` only validates the first segment of a dot-separated path, allowing an attacker to bypass the protection by placing `__proto__` at any position other than the first. Both `dottie.set()` and `dottie.transform()` are affected. Version 2.0.7 contains an updated fix to address the residual vulnerability.
CWE:   CWE-1321: Improperly Controlled Modification of Object Prototype Attributes ('Prototype Pollution')
CVSS Source:   NVD
CVSS Base score:   9.8
CVSS Vector:   (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H)

CVEID:   CVE-2026-26960
DESCRIPTION:   node-tar is a full-featured Tar for Node.js. When using default options in versions 7.5.7 and below, an attacker-controlled archive can create a hardlink inside the extraction directory that points to a file outside the extraction root, enabling arbitrary file read and write as the extracting user. Severity is high because the primitive bypasses path protections and turns archive extraction into a direct filesystem access primitive. This issue has been fixed in version 7.5.8.
CWE:   CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
CVSS Source:   NVD
CVSS Base score:   7.1
CVSS Vector:   (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N)

CVEID:   CVE-2026-25896
DESCRIPTION:   fast-xml-parser allows users to validate XML, parse XML to JS object, or build XML from JS object without C/C++ based libraries and no callback. From 4.1.3to before 5.3.5, a dot (.) in a DOCTYPE entity name is treated as a regex wildcard during entity replacement, allowing an attacker to shadow built-in XML entities (<, >, &, ", ') with arbitrary values. This bypasses entity encoding and leads to XSS when parsed output is rendered. This vulnerability is fixed in 5.3.5.
CWE:   CWE-185: Incorrect Regular Expression
CVSS Source:   security-advisories@github.com
CVSS Base score:   9.3
CVSS Vector:   (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:N)

CVEID:   CVE-2026-26278
DESCRIPTION:   fast-xml-parser allows users to validate XML, parse XML to JS object, or build XML from JS object without C/C++ based libraries and no callback. In versions 4.1.3 through 5.3.5, the XML parser can be forced to do an unlimited amount of entity expansion. With a very small XML input, it’s possible to make the parser spend seconds or even minutes processing a single request, effectively freezing the application. Version 5.3.6 fixes the issue. As a workaround, avoid using DOCTYPE parsing by `processEntities: false` option.
CWE:   CWE-776: Improper Restriction of Recursive Entity References in DTDs ('XML Entity Expansion')
CVSS Source:   security-advisories@github.com
CVSS Base score:   7.5
CVSS Vector:   (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H)

CVEID:   CVE-2026-1615
DESCRIPTION:   Versions of the package jsonpath before 1.3.0 are vulnerable to Arbitrary Code Injection via unsafe evaluation of user-supplied JSON Path expressions. The library relies on the static-eval module to process JSON Path input, which is not designed to handle untrusted data safely. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by supplying a malicious JSON Path expression that, when evaluated, executes arbitrary JavaScript code, leading to Remote Code Execution in Node.js environments or Cross-site Scripting (XSS) in browser contexts. This affects all methods that evaluate JSON Paths against objects, including .query, .nodes, .paths, .value, .parent, and .apply.
CWE:   CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
CVSS Source:   report@snyk.io
CVSS Base score:   9.8
CVSS Vector:   (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H)

CVEID:   CVE-2026-27942
DESCRIPTION:   fast-xml-parser allows users to validate XML, parse XML to JS object, or build XML from JS object without C/C++ based libraries and no callback. Prior to version 5.3.8, the application crashes with stack overflow when user use XML builder with `preserveOrder:true`. Version 5.3.8 fixes the issue. As a workaround, use XML builder with `preserveOrder:false` or check the input data before passing to builder.
CWE:   CWE-120: Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input ('Classic Buffer Overflow')
CVSS Source:   NVD
CVSS Base score:   7.5
CVSS Vector:   (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H)