CVE-2026-54904
concurrent-ruby: `AtomicReference#update` livelocks when the stored value is `Float::NAN`
- State
- Published
- Severity
- 8.2 High
- Published
- Jun 24, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 5, 2026
- Reserved
- Jun 16, 2026
Description
concurrent-ruby is a modern concurrency tools for Ruby. Prior to 1.3.7, Concurrent::AtomicReference#update can enter a permanent busy retry loop when the current value is Float::NAN. The issue is caused by the interaction between AtomicReference#update, which retries until compare_and_set(old_value, new_value) succeeds; Numeric compare_and_set, which checks old == old_value before attempting the underlying atomic swap.; and Ruby NaN semantics, where Float::NAN == Float::NAN is always false. As a result, once an AtomicReference contains Float::NAN, calling #update repeatedly evaluates the caller's block and never returns. In services that store externally derived numeric values in an AtomicReference, this can cause CPU exhaustion or permanent request/job hangs. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.3.7.
Scores
| CVSS | Score | Vector | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0 | 8.2 High | CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N | GitHub_M |
Weaknesses
- CWE-835 Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop')
Affected Products
| Product | Versions |
|---|---|
concurrent-rubyruby-concurrency |
|
References
- https://github.com/ruby-concurrency/concurrent-ruby/security/advisories/GHSA-h8w8-99g7-qmvj
- https://github.com/ruby-concurrency/concurrent-ruby/commit/6e37e0644b83b182971dc540d2e4bee38df61386
- https://github.com/ruby-concurrency/concurrent-ruby/releases/tag/v1.3.7
- https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/concurrent-ruby/CVE-2026-54904.yml
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