CVE-2026-97853
Unbounded allocation in decimal Decimal.round/3 driven by the places argument enables DoS
Published Oct 10, 2026 · corrected/updated Oct 15, 2026 · evidence confidence high
## Summary Memory Allocation with Excessive Size Value vulnerability in ericmj decimal allows Denial of Service. builds the full result for the requested number of decimal places before the context precision (34 digits by default) is applied, so its cost grows with the argument instead of with the size of the result. For positive it appends zero digits to the coefficient as a charlist before converting it to an integer, and for negative it builds a charlist of zero digits. A single call such as allocates about 5.5 GB of memory, which can exhaust available memory and get the BEAM VM killed. The oldest releases instead loop once per decimal place, consuming CPU in proportion to . Any application that passes a user-supplied number of decimal places or scale to or without bounding it is exposed. The input limits added for CVE-2026-32686 do not cover the argument. This issue affects decimal: from 0.1.0 before 3.1.2. ## Details sets the target exponent to and materializes the coefficient at that exponent; only applies the precision afterwards. - Positive (introduced in 1.3.0 by commit 7a83d27): followed by ( in 3.1.1). The list is built before raises for results over about 1.26 million digits, the BEAM integer size limit. - Negative (since 1.4.0): ( in 3.1.1). - Releases from 0.1.0 before 1.1.0: (and in 1.0.1 ) recurses once per decimal place for negative ; 1.0.1 also multiplies a power of ten by 10 on every iteration. Established by reading the code; these releases do not compile on current Elixir. Measured on OTP 29 with 3.1.1, one call per fresh VM: | Call | Time | Peak VM memory | |---|---|---| | | 0.25 s | 0.8 GB | | | 1.2 s | 5.5 GB | | | 2.1 s, then | 2.4 GB | In an container started with , either of the last two calls got the VM killed (exit status 137). Over HTTP (Plug and Bandit) a 34-byte JSON body carrying returned after 1.25 s with server memory at 4.3 GB. ## Proof of concept ## Impact An attacker who controls the number of decimal places an application round
Grounded briefings
Catalog interpretations for three audiences. Each brief cites ingested metadata and the original advisories below. They are not independent research and they do not invent exploit steps.
Executive
CVE-2026-97853 is a medium public vulnerability record for this product. It is not currently listed in the CISA Known Exploited catalog. Check the linked vendor or CERT advisories for patch status. This summary is a catalog interpretation of the ingested metadata and cites the original advisories below.
System administrator
Identify whether this product is in your estate, then compare installed versions with the affected ranges. Affected packages or ranges on record: decimal (0.1.0 → 3.1.2). Check the linked vendor or CERT advisories for patch status. Prefer the vendor or distribution advisory linked in Sources before changing production systems. This is a catalog interpretation, not a runbook.
Security analyst
Signals on file: CVSS 6.9, EPSS 0.1%. It is not currently listed in the CISA Known Exploited catalog. Weakness classes: CWE-789. Sources contributing to this record: cve_org, epss, github, nvd. Public exploit references, when present, are outbound links only and are not proof of active exploitation. This is a catalog interpretation of stored metadata.
Exploitation and remediation
Exploitation evidence
Not listed as known exploited in CISA KEV. Not in the CISA KEV catalog.
Patch and remediation
No required-action text is stored yet. Use the vendor or CERT links in Sources for patch availability.
Safe detection guidance
Compare installed versions with the affected ranges below and verify the advisory from the original publisher. This site stores metadata and outbound links only; it does not ship exploit code or proof-of-concept payloads.
Code
The project this record applies to. Exploit listings stay in References.
Timeline
Detection, updates, and resolution for this record.
Oct 10, 2026 · GitHub Advisory Database
Fix available
decimal fixed in 3.1.2
Oct 10, 2026 · GitHub Advisory Database
Fix available
decimal fixed in 3.1.2
Oct 10, 2026 · GitHub Advisory Database
Updated
## Summary Memory Allocation with Excessive Size Value vulnerability in ericmj decimal allows Denial of Service. builds the full result for the requested number of decimal places before the context precision (34 digits by default) is applied, so its cost grows with the argument instead of with the size of the result. For positive it appends zero digits to the coefficient as a charlist before conve
Oct 13, 2026 · Tenable CVE Database
Detected
Memory Allocation with Excessive Size Value vulnerability in ericmj decimal allows Denial of Service. Decimal.round/3 builds the full result for the requested number of decimal places before the context precision (34 digits by default) is applied, so its cost grows with the places argument instead of with the size of the result. For positive places it appends places zero digits to the coefficient
Oct 15, 2026 · NIST NVD
Updated
Memory Allocation with Excessive Size Value vulnerability in ericmj decimal allows Denial of Service. Decimal.round/3 builds the full result for the requested number of decimal places before the context precision (34 digits by default) is applied, so its cost grows with the places argument instead of with the size of the result. For positive places it appends places zero digits to the coefficient
Affected
- Hex decimal0.1.0 → 3.1.2
Sources
- CVE.orgVulnerability recordCVE-2026-97853
Official CVE identifier
cve.org - FIRST EPSSExploitation probabilityCVE-2026-97853
30-day exploitation probability 0.1%
first.org - GitHub Advisory DatabasePackage advisoryGHSA-6c27-994x-c52f
GitHub Advisory Database record mirrored by OSV.
github.com - NIST NVDVulnerability recordCVE-2026-97853
Memory Allocation with Excessive Size Value vulnerability in ericmj decimal allows Denial of Service. Decimal.round/3 builds the full result for the requested number of decimal places before the context precision (34 digits by default) is applied, so its cost grows with the plac
nvd.nist.gov - OSV.devPackage advisoryEEF-CVE-2026-97853
Unbounded allocation in decimal Decimal.round/3 driven by the places argument enables DoS
osv.dev - Tenable CVE DatabaseVulnerability recordCVE-2026-97853
Memory Allocation with Excessive Size Value vulnerability in ericmj decimal allows Denial of Service. Decimal.round/3 builds the full result for the requested number of decimal places before the context precision (34 digits by default) is applied, so its cost grows with the places argument instead of with the size of the result. For positive places it appends places zero digits to the coefficient
tenable.com