CVE-2026-71429stream-json: pick/ignore/filter/replace filters are O(depth²) on nested input — small crafted JSON blocks the event loop for seconds→minutes (DoS)

stream-json is a micro-library of stream components for processing JSON and JSONC with a minimal memory footprint. Prior to 3.5.0, the path filters pick, ignore, filter, and replace in src/core/filters/filter-base.js recompute the full path string from the nesting stack for every checkable token. Because the stack length equals the current nesting depth and a checkable token is emitted at every level, a depth D document costs O(D²) rather than O(D) to process. The issue is triggered by nesting depth rather than byte volume, including the documented pick({filter: 'data'}) traversal-until-match path, so an application that sends untrusted JSON through a string or RegExp filter can block the Node.js event loop and cause denial of service with a small deeply nested document. The streamArray, streamObject, and streamValues streamers are not affected because they use the constant-time asm.depth getter. This issue is fixed in version 3.5.0.

CVSS

6.2 MEDIUM (v3.1, CNA)CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Weakness (CWE)

CWE-407

Known exploited

Not in CISA's KEV catalog

EPSS (exploitation in the next 30 days)

Not loaded for this CVE

Assigned by

GitHub_M

NVD analysis

Deferred

Record last updated

Sep 4, 2026

First seen by InfoSec Signals

Oct 9, 2026

The CVE record on cve.org · NVD's entry

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