CVE-2026-32686
Fix: ericmj/decimal@6a523f3CVE-2026-32686 is a Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability in decimal. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2026-32686 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Unbounded exponent in decimal enables unauthenticated DoS
Exploitation Status
Proof-of-concept exploit code exists
- CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2026-32686.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
Real-World Exposure
decimalReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Hex packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability in ericmj decimal allows unauthenticated remote Denial of Service.
The decimal library does not bound the exponent on parsed input. Storing a decimal with a very large exponent (e.g. Decimal.new("1e1000000000")) is accepted without error. Subsequent calls to arithmetic functions (Decimal.add/2, Decimal.sub/2, Decimal.div/2), Decimal.to_string/2 with :normal or :xsd format, Decimal.to_integer/1, Decimal.round/3, or Decimal.compare/3 with a threshold allocate memory proportional to the exponent value, which can exhaust available memory and crash the BEAM VM.
Any application that accepts user-supplied decimal input and subsequently performs arithmetic, rounding, conversion to integer, or string formatting on it is exposed. A single malicious request is sufficient to cause an out-of-memory crash.
This issue affects decimal: from 0.1.0 before 3.0.0.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 💧Hex | decimal | ≥ 0.1.0&&< 3.0.0 | 3.0.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for decimal. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update decimal to 3.0.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-32686 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2026-32686 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2026-32686. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-32686 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2026-32686 across Hex dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.