jq is a command-line JSON processor. Prior to 1.8.2, comparing two sufficiently deeply nested arrays with the == operator exhausts the C stack on jq's ordinary command-line surface, resulting in denial of service via stack exhaustion (uncontrolled recursion). The crash occurs in jq's recursive structural comparison code, with the recursion repeating through jvp_array_equal() and jv_equal() in src/jv.c when comparing deeply nested arrays; a nearby sort comparator path through jv_cmp() in src/jv_aux.c overflows the stack at a larger nesting depth from the same missing recursion guard. Anyone running jq comparisons on attacker-controlled deeply nested JSON values, or embedding jq in a context where untrusted data can reach the == comparison path, is affected. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.8.2.
Fix
Patch, vendor advisory and mitigation references on NVD 1
- https://github.com/jqlang/jq/security/advisories/GHSA-3pgx-frr7-3jxp Exploit, Mitigation, Vendor Advisory
Every line above is quoted from NVD, CISA, Microsoft, the vendor's own advisory or DISA; nothing is generated.
Change history 1
- First seenCVSS 6.8 · jqlangNVD modified 2026-10-25 22:10
Affected (CPE criteria) 1
cpe:2.3:a:jqlang:jq:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
References 1
- https://github.com/jqlang/jq/security/advisories/GHSA-3pgx-frr7-3jxp Exploit, Mitigation, Vendor Advisory