CVE-2026-54156

HIGHPre-NVD 7.57.5
EchelonGraph scoreLOW confidence

This high-severity CVE scores 7.5 under the CNA's CVSS (NVD's own analysis pending). EPSS exploit-prediction score not yet available (the EPSS model rescores nightly; freshly-published CVEs typically appear within 48 hours). GitHub Security Advisory data not yet ingested — confidence will rise once GHSA publishes (typical lag: hours to days for open-source ecosystem CVEs; never for infrastructure-only CVEs).

Triggered by: NVD CVSS baseline
Sources: cna:github_m
7.5EG
EchelonGraph verdictPlan a fixSerious severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet.
  • High severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS PROB: —CVSS: 7.5Exploit: None knownExposed: 0

No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.

node-opcua: Unbounded nonce cache enables unauthenticated heap exhaustion DoS

Summary A process-global nonce cache with no eviction policy allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to exhaust server heap memory by repeatedly opening sessions, causing the node-opcua server process to crash.

Affected versions: <= 2.165.0 Tested version: 2.165.0 CVSS Score: 7.5 (High) CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H CWE: CWE-770 Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling

Root Cause

In packages/node-opcua-secure-channel/source/server/server_secure_channel_layer.ts at line 156, g_alreadyUsedNonce is a process-global object used to track previously seen nonces for replay detection. Entries are added on every OpenSecureChannelRequest and every CreateSession request but are never removed or expired.

An unauthenticated attacker can exploit the CreateSession path (which requires no certificate) to accumulate nonce entries indefinitely. Even with maxSessions=10 limiting concurrent sessions, nonces persist after session expiry, allowing slow but reliable heap exhaustion across repeated connection cycles.

Measured Impact

Dynamically confirmed heap growth:

  • 5,000 unique nonces → +1.23 MB resident heap, no eviction after explicit GC
  • Projected: 10^6 nonces → ~246 MB resident heap
  • Achievable OOM on default Node.js heap limits

Suggested Fix

Add a TTL-based eviction policy to g_alreadyUsedNonce. Nonces should be expired after the maximum session timeout (or a reasonable fixed window, e.g. 1 hour). A Map with timestamp entries and periodic cleanup is sufficient.

I am following a 90-day responsible disclosure policy. I am happy to provide additional technical details under embargo. Please confirm receipt at your earliest convenience.

Reporter: Stanley Tobias Discovery date: 2026-03-23

CVSS v3
7.5
EG Score
7.5(low)
EG Risk
38(Track)
EG Risk 38/100SSVC: Track

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).

How it’s computed
Severity75% × 45%
Exploitation0% × 40%
Automatability30% × 15%
Action: Routine — remediate on your standard cadence.
EPSS PROB
—
EPSS %ILE
—
KEV
Not listed

Published

August 20, 2026

Last Modified

August 20, 2026

Vendor Advisories for CVE-2026-54156(1)

These vendors published their own advisory mentioning this CVE — often with vendor-specific remediation steps + affected product lists not in NVD.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 1× in last 7d / 1× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.

  1. 2026-08-20 18:42 UTCEG score recompute

Frequently asked(4)

What is CVE-2026-54156?
CVE-2026-54156 is a high vulnerability published on August 20, 2026. node-opcua: Unbounded nonce cache enables unauthenticated heap exhaustion DoS Summary A process-global nonce cache with no eviction policy allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to exhaust server heap memory by repeatedly opening sessions, causing the node-opcua server process to crash. Affected…
When was CVE-2026-54156 disclosed?
CVE-2026-54156 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on August 20, 2026. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-54156?
CVE-2026-54156 has a CVSS v4.0 base score of 7.5 (CNA self-assessment; NVD's own analysis pending). The EG score is currently aggregating — additional source signals are being incorporated as they become available..
How do I remediate CVE-2026-54156?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2026-54156, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

Dependency Blast Radius

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