CVE-2026-29036

cJSON 1.7.19 Wrong-Key Modification via JSON Pointer Escape Decoding

State
Published
Severity
8.7 High
Published
Aug 11, 2026
Updated
Aug 14, 2026
Reserved
Mar 3, 2026

Read the record on cve.org

Description

cJSON versions 1.5.0 through 1.7.19 contain an incorrectly-resolved name or reference vulnerability in the decode_pointer_inplace() function within cJSON_Utils.c that allows unauthenticated attackers to cause JSON Patch operations to target wrong object keys by supplying crafted JSON Pointer escape sequences (~0 or ~1) in patch paths. Attackers can submit malicious RFC 6902 JSON Patch input to applications using cJSONUtils_ApplyPatches() or cJSONUtils_ApplyPatchesCaseSensitive() to silently corrupt data or delete unintended keys, potentially bypassing authorization controls in applications that rely on JSON Patch for access-controlled data modification.

Scores

CVSSScoreVectorSource
4.08.7 HighCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:NVulnCheck
3.17.5 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:NVulnCheck

Weaknesses

  • CWE-706 Use of Incorrectly-Resolved Name or Reference

Affected Products

ProductVersions
cJSONDaveGamble
  • 1.5.0 through 1.7.19Affected

References

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