CVE-2026-48484
Deferred Deferred - Pending Action

Memory Exhaustion in pyLoad via Unlimited File Upload

Publication date: 2026-10-09

Last updated on: 2026-10-09

Assigner: GitHub, Inc.

Description
pyLoad is a free and open-source download manager written in Python. Prior to 0.5.0b3.dev101, the API `rpc` function in `api_blueprint.py` handles `multipart/form-data` uploads by reading the whole content of the uploaded file into memory with `file.read()`. This occurs before the data is sent to the underlying function. Since there is no size limit set at this point, a large file upload can exhaust the server's available memory which led to process termination. Version 0.5.0b3.dev101 contains a patch.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-10-09
Last Modified
2026-10-09
Generated
2026-10-09
AI Q&A
2026-10-09
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-48484
EUVD
EUVD-2026-95910

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
pyload pyload < 0.5.0b3.dev101

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-20 The product receives input or data, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input has the properties that are required to process the data safely and correctly.
CWE-400 The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.

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Executive Summary

This vulnerability is a denial-of-service (DoS) flaw in pyLoad, a Python download manager. It occurs when the API's RPC function processes file uploads via multipart/form-data. The function reads the entire file into memory without enforcing size limits, allowing attackers to upload large files (e.g., 10GB) and exhaust server memory, causing crashes or system unresponsiveness.

Detection Guidance

Monitor for unusually large file uploads to pyLoad API endpoints, especially to /api/<func> paths. Check server logs for memory exhaustion errors or process terminations. Use tools like netstat or ss to observe active connections to pyLoad ports.

Impact Analysis

An attacker could exploit this to crash your pyLoad server by uploading a massive file, leading to downtime or service disruption. This affects availability but does not compromise data confidentiality or integrity. Servers with limited memory are particularly vulnerable.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability primarily impacts availability by causing denial-of-service conditions through memory exhaustion. It does not directly affect confidentiality or integrity of data. Compliance with GDPR or HIPAA is not directly violated by this issue unless the DoS condition disrupts critical services handling personal or health data, potentially leading to service unavailability.

Mitigation Strategies
  • Upgrade pyLoad to version 0.5.0b3.dev101 or later to apply the patch.
  • Set MAX_CONTENT_LENGTH in config.py to 16MB (16 * 1024 * 1024) as shown in the fix commit.
  • Configure your web server (e.g., Nginx, Apache) to enforce file size limits for uploads.

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