---
title: "CVE-2026-54873: OpenSSL QUIC - Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling"
description: "OpenSSL QUIC stack contains an allocation of resources without limits or throttling caused by delayed release of packet buffers, letting remote attackers exhaust memory by sending crafted packets, exploit requires network access."
url: https://panop.io/threat-heartbeat/CVE-2026-54873/
---

# CVE-2026-54873 OpenSSL QUIC - Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling

OpenSSL QUIC stack contains an allocation of resources without limits or throttling caused by delayed release of packet buffers, letting remote attackers exhaust memory by sending crafted packets, exploit requires network access.

CVSS base score 7.5 /10

High

CISA KEV

Not listed

Public exploit

None known

Authentication

Not required

EPSS

0.46% chance of exploitation in 30 days

[View the NVD record ↗](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-54873)

## Details

Type

Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling

Impact

Denial Of Service

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Published

29 September 2026

Updated

15 October 2026

Weakness

[CWE-770](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/770.html)

## Vendor fix

Update to the latest OpenSSL version with the QUIC stack memory overhead mitigation.

Patching closes this CVE. It does not tell you which of your systems run the affected version, or what else is exposed alongside them.

## References

- [https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-54873](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-54873)
- [https://openssl-library.org/news/secadv/20260929.txt](https://openssl-library.org/news/secadv/20260929.txt)
- [https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/1f643b8bc735487b500a1f68a7fb3a22d5e38e23](https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/1f643b8bc735487b500a1f68a7fb3a22d5e38e23)
- [https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/279e7ee1392af98785746788168749491c74bd53](https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/279e7ee1392af98785746788168749491c74bd53)
- [https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/3ea6213e050e938ecbbf8c4eff32bec2736780eb](https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/3ea6213e050e938ecbbf8c4eff32bec2736780eb)
- [https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/7127fb10888b49711c63128a09e524c0d2d5d0b2](https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/7127fb10888b49711c63128a09e524c0d2d5d0b2)

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## What this record can't tell you

- Whether you run the affected software, and where
- Whether an attacker can actually reach and exploit it
- The misconfigurations that never get a CVE number
- What it would cost the business, ranked into what to fix first

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