CVE-2026-24738

CVE-2026-24738 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Gmrtd with a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.5. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-400.

Key facts

Description

gmrtd is a Go library for reading Machine Readable Travel Documents (MRTDs). Prior to version 0.17.2, ReadFile accepts TLVs with lengths that can range up to 4GB, which can cause unconstrained resource consumption in both memory and cpu cycles. ReadFile can consume an extended TLV with lengths well outside what would be available in ICs. It can accept something all the way up to 4GB which would take too many iterations in 256 byte chunks, and would also try to allocate memory that might not be available in constrained environments like phones. Or if an API sends data to ReadFile, the same problem applies. The very small chunked read also locks the goroutine in accepting data for a very large number of iterations. projects using the gmrtd library to read files from NFCs can experience extreme slowdowns or memory consumption. A malicious NFC can just behave like the mock transceiver described above and by just sending dummy bytes as each chunk to be read, can make the receiving thread unresponsive and fill up memory on the host system. Version 0.17.2 patches the issue.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-24738?
gmrtd is a Go library for reading Machine Readable Travel Documents (MRTDs). Prior to version 0.17.2, ReadFile accepts TLVs with lengths that can range up to 4GB, which can cause unconstrained resource consumption in both memory and cpu cycles. ReadFile can consume an extended TLV with lengths well outside what would be available in ICs. It can accept something all the way up to 4GB which would take too many iterations in 256 byte chunks, and would also try to allocate memory that might not be available in constrained environments like phones. Or if an API sends data to ReadFile, the same problem applies. The very small chunked read also locks the goroutine in accepting data for a very large number of iterations. projects using the gmrtd library to read files from NFCs can experience extreme slowdowns or memory consumption. A malicious NFC can just behave like the mock transceiver described above and by just sending dummy bytes as each chunk to be read, can make the receiving thread unresponsive and fill up memory on the host system. Version 0.17.2 patches the issue.
How severe is CVE-2026-24738?
CVE-2026-24738 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.5, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over an adjacent network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.
Is CVE-2026-24738 being actively exploited?
It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (18th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2026-24738?
CVE-2026-24738 affects Gmrtd. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2026-24738?
Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
Does CVE-2026-24738 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?
Yes. CVE-2026-24738 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2026-4740.
When was CVE-2026-24738 published?
CVE-2026-24738 was published on 2026-01-27 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

Other CWE-400 (Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) vulnerabilities

Browse all CWE-400 (Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) vulnerabilities →