mediumVulnerability

GHSA-xx7m-69ff-9crp

In SurrealDB instances with the scripting capability enabled (`--allow-scripting`), users with the ability to run arbitrary queries can trigger a server crash due to a memory-safety bug in the underlying JS engine. The SurrealDB instance terminates instantly, requiring a manual restart. The query consists of using built-in string functions to construct a large string and passing it to the JavaScript runtime for compilation. The exact string size required to trigger the crash varies between SurrealDB versions. Whilst exploiting the vulnerability requires users to be able to run arbitrary queries, if guest access (`--allow-guests`), is enabled, then guests can perform this attack. ### Impact Any user able to execute queries on a SurrealDB instance with scripting enabled (`--allow-scripting`) can cause complete denial of service. The server process terminates immediately without graceful shutdown. The underlying cause of the vulnerability is a null pointer dereference in the `QuickJS-NG` v0.8 JavaScript engine, this vulnerability cannot be exploited to execute arbitrary code, or compromise the integrity or confidentiality of data. ### Patches Versions prior to SurrealDB `v2.6.1` and `v3.0.0-beta.3` are vulnerable. The patches for SurrealDB `v2.6.1` and `v3.0.0-beta.3` update the `rquickjs` dependency from `v0.9.0` to `v0.11.0`, which in turn uses an updated version of `QuickJS-NG`. ### Workarounds Deny execution of embedded scripting functions through the configuration of [capabilities](https://surrealdb.com/docs/surrealdb/security/capabilities#capabilities) by starting SurrealDB with the `--deny-scripting` flag or the equivalent environment variable `SURREAL_CAPS_DENY_SCRIPT=true`. This has a usability implication, although scripting functions are disabled by default. Administrators can also use `--deny-arbitrary-query` to deny arbitrary querying by either `guest`, `record` or `system` users, or a combination of those, with impacts to functionality for th

Properties

ghsa_id
GHSA-xx7m-69ff-9crp
severity
medium
summary
SurrealDB vulnerable to Denial of Service through scripting function memory edge case
cve_id
GHSA-xx7m-69ff-9crp
is_ghsa_only
true
ghsa_published
2026-02-12T22:11:48Z
source_url
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-xx7m-69ff-9crp
ghsa_updated
2026-02-12T22:12:39Z

Related Entities (3)

AFFECTS (1)

[Software]rust/surrealdb

HAS_WEAKNESS (1)

[Weakness]NULL Pointer Dereference

REPORTED_BY (1)

[Source]GitHub Advisory Database

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