CVE-2026-44240
basic-ftp allows a malicious FTP server to cause client-side denial of service via unbounded multiline control response buffering
Description
basic-ftp is an FTP client for Node.js. Prior to 5.3.1, basic-ftp is vulnerable to client-side denial of service when parsing FTP control-channel multiline responses. A malicious or compromised FTP server can send an unterminated multiline response during the initial FTP banner phase, before authentication. The client keeps appending attacker-controlled data into FtpContext._partialResponse and repeatedly reparses the accumulated buffer without enforcing a maximum control response size. As a result, an application using basic-ftp can remain stuck in connect() while memory and CPU usage grow under attacker-controlled input. This can lead to process-level denial of service, container OOM kills, worker restarts, queue backlog, or service degradation in applications that automatically connect to FTP endpoints. This vulnerability is fixed in 5.3.1.
How to fix CVE-2026-44240
To remediate CVE-2026-44240, upgrade the affected package to a fixed version below.
- —no fix listed
- —upgrade to 5.3.1 or later
Is CVE-2026-44240 being exploited?
Low — EPSS is 0.0%, meaning exploitation activity has not been observed at scale.
Affected packages (2)
- from 0
- from 0, < 5.3.1
CVSS scores
| Source | Version | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| osv | CVSS 3.1 | HIGH7.5 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |