CVE-2026-7541

Description

A denial of service vulnerability was identified in GitHub Enterprise Server that allowed an unauthenticated attacker to cause service disruption by sending crafted requests with deeply nested JSON payloads to an unauthenticated API endpoint. The endpoint parsed user-controlled JSON request bodies without size or depth limits, causing excessive CPU and memory consumption. This vulnerability affected all versions of GitHub Enterprise Server prior to 3.21 and was fixed in versions 3.20.2, 3.19.6, 3.18.9, 3.17.15, and 3.16.18. This vulnerability was reported via the GitHub Bug Bounty program.

Overview

State: PUBLISHED
Assigner (CNA): GitHub_P
CVSS severity: MEDIUM
CVSS score: 6.3 / 10
CVSS vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:H/E:U
Effective score: 6.3 / 10 MEDIUM source: CNA overview
CWE(s): CWE-770
Reserved: 2026-04-30
Published: 2026-05-07 23:18 UTC
Last updated: 2026-05-08 15:44 UTC
Source: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/main/cves/2026/7xxx/CVE-2026-7541.json
Linked Threat: CVE-2026-7541 — CVE-2026-7541

NVD triage scoring NVD CVE 2.0

Layer NVD adds on top of the CNA's CVE record — published / last-modified timestamps, exploitability / impact subscores, and the FIRST.org EPSS probability that this CVE will be exploited in the wild in the next 30 days.

NVD published: 2026-05-07 22:16:36 UTC
NVD last modified: 2026-05-11 17:19:36 UTC
NVD CVSS v3.1: 7.5 / 10 HIGH source: nvd@nist.gov
NVD CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Exploitability subscore: 3.9 / 10
Impact subscore: 3.6 / 10
EPSS score: 0.0006 (probability of exploitation in next 30 days)
EPSS percentile: 19.88% vs all CVEs — higher = more likely to be exploited, as of 2026-05-24

European Union Vulnerability Database ENISA EUVD

ENISA's official EU repository for curated vulnerability intelligence. Carries a separate identifier (EUVD-YYYY-NNNN) and frequently exposes an earlier-published description + CVSS than NVD does.

EUVD ID: EUVD-2026-28462
Assigner: GitHub_P
Published: May 7, 2026, 9:18:35 PM
Updated: May 8, 2026, 1:44:52 PM
EUVD base score (CVSS 4.0): 6.3 / 10
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:H/E:U
EUVD-reported EPSS: 0.0600
Vendors: GitHub
Products: Enterprise Server (3.20.0 ≤3.20.1)

Enterprise Server (3.18.0 ≤3.18.8)

Enterprise Server (3.17.0 ≤3.17.14)

Enterprise Server (3.16.0 ≤3.16.17)

Enterprise Server (3.19.0 ≤3.19.5)

ENISA description: A denial of service vulnerability was identified in GitHub Enterprise Server that allowed an unauthenticated attacker to cause service disruption by sending crafted requests with deeply nested JSON payloads to an unauthenticated API endpoint. The endpoint parsed user-controlled JSON request bodies without size or depth limits, causing excessive CPU and memory consumption. This vulnerability affected all versions of GitHub Enterprise Server prior to 3.21 and was fixed in versions 3.20.2, 3.19.6, 3.18.9, 3.17.15, and 3.16.18. This vulnerability was reported via the GitHub Bug Bounty program.

EUVD references (5)

Affected products (1)

Vendor	Product	Versions	Platforms
GitHub	Enterprise Server	`3.16.0` (affected), `3.17.0` (affected), `3.18.0` (affected), `3.19.0` (affected), `3.20.0` (affected)	—

Affected products — CPE 2.3 (1) NVD

NVD's normalized CPE 2.3 matchers, used by vendor tools (vulnerability scanners, asset managers) for automated detection. Compare with the CNA's free-text "Affected products" section above.

cpe:2.3:a:github:enterprise_server:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

Vendor references (5)

References embedded in the original CVE record by the assigning CNA.

https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.16/admin/release-notes#3.16.18 release-notes
https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.17/admin/release-notes#3.17.15 release-notes
https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.18/admin/release-notes#3.18.9 release-notes
https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.19/admin/release-notes#3.19.6 release-notes
https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.20/admin/release-notes#3.20.2 release-notes

MITRE references (5) cveawg.mitre.org

Pulled from MITRE's CVE Services API by the 🛰 Backfill from MITRE button.

https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.19/admin/release-notes#3.19.6 release-notes
https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.16/admin/release-notes#3.16.18 release-notes
https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.20/admin/release-notes#3.20.2 release-notes
https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.17/admin/release-notes#3.17.15 release-notes
https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.18/admin/release-notes#3.18.9 release-notes

Web references (3)

DuckDuckGo results ranked by threat-intel / vendor advisory domains. Generated by the 🔎 Find references (web) button above — same flow as the Remediations search.

https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-7541 tenable:nvd.nist.gov
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-7541 tenable:www.cve.org
https://www.first.org/epss/ tenable:www.first.org

NVD-tagged references (5)

Reference list NVD curates from the CNA record, vendor advisories, and third-party reports. The tag chips below are NVD's analyst-assigned categories.

https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.16/admin/release-notes#3.16.18 product-cna@github.com Release NotesVendor Advisory
https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.17/admin/release-notes#3.17.15 product-cna@github.com Release NotesVendor Advisory
https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.18/admin/release-notes#3.18.9 product-cna@github.com Release NotesVendor Advisory
https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.19/admin/release-notes#3.19.6 product-cna@github.com Release NotesVendor Advisory
https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.20/admin/release-notes#3.20.2 product-cna@github.com Release NotesVendor Advisory

Remediations (15)

Remediations are stored against the linked Threat row; the list below is deduplicated across both pages.

CISA Warns of Exploited Microsoft Defender 0-Day Flaws

web:cyberpress.org

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has added two actively exploited Microsoft Defender vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, issuing an urgent remediation directive for federal agencies with a due date of June 3, 2026 .

2026-05-23 21:07 UTC
Microsoft Patch Tuesday April 2026 - 168 Vulnerabilities Fixed ...

web:cybersecuritynews.com

Microsoft has released its April 2026 Patch Tuesday security update, addressing 168 vulnerabilities across its product portfolio including one actively exploited zero-day and one publicly disclosed flaw that organizations must prioritize immediately.

2026-05-23 21:07 UTC
Microsoft September 2025 Patch Tuesday - 81 Vulnerabilities ... - GBHackers

web:gbhackers.com

Microsoft has released its September 2025 Patch Tuesday update, addressing a total of 81 security vulnerabilities across its product portfolio.

2026-05-23 21:07 UTC
Security Update Guide - Microsoft

web:portal.msrc.microsoft.com

The Security Update Guide provides information on the latest Microsoft security updates, helping users understand and address potential vulnerabilities effectively.

2026-05-23 21:07 UTC
CVE-2026-7541 Observation Footprint | Bitsight

web:www.bitsight.com

Find CVE-2026-7541 country and industry Internet observation data, via Bitsight's Groma Internet scanner.

2026-05-23 21:07 UTC
February's Patch Tuesday release fixes 59 flaws ... - Computerworld

web:www.computerworld.com

Each month, the team at Readiness analyzes the latest Patch Tuesday updates from Microsoft and provides detailed, actionable testing guidance. The company's Patch Tuesday release for February ...

2026-05-23 21:07 UTC
2 New Microsoft Defender Zero-Days Exploited—Patch Now ... - Forbes

web:www.forbes.com

Microsoft has confirmed an emergency security update as CISA warns that two new Defender zero-days are being exploited by attackers.

2026-05-23 21:07 UTC
Oracle Critical Patch Update Advisory - April 2026

web:www.oracle.com

This Critical Patch Update contains 481 new security patches across the product families listed below. Please note that an MOS note summarizing the content of this Critical Patch Update and other Oracle Software Security Assurance activities is located at April 2026 Critical Patch Update: Executive Summary and Analysis.

2026-05-23 21:07 UTC
Microsoft fixes 167 security flaws in April, second biggest Patch ...

web:www.pcworld.com

This month's Patch Tuesday includes an actively exploited Office zero-day vulnerability and several critical RCE bugs in Windows and Remote Desktop.

2026-05-23 21:07 UTC
Patch Tuesday May 2026: Security Updates & CVE Analysis

web:zecurit.com

Get the complete breakdown of Microsoft's May 2026 Patch Tuesday. We analyze the latest security updates and all critical CVEs .

2026-05-23 21:07 UTC
CISA Warns of Microsoft Defender 0-Day Vulnerabilities Exploited in Attacks

web:cybersecuritynews.com

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has added two critical Microsoft Defender vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, warning organizations of active exploitation risks. The flaws, tracked as CVE - 2026 -45498 and CVE - 2026 -41091, impact Microsoft Defender and could allow attackers to disrupt systems or escalate privileges. Both ...

2026-05-26 02:48 UTC
CISA orders feds to patch BlueHammer flaw exploited as zero-day

web:www.bleepingcomputer.com

CISA has ordered U.S. federal agencies to patch a Microsoft Defender privilege escalation flaw (dubbed BlueHammer) that has been exploited in zero-day attacks.

2026-05-26 02:48 UTC
April 2026 Patch Tuesday: Updates and Analysis | CrowdStrike

web:www.crowdstrike.com

Microsoft's April 2026 Patch Tuesday addresses 164 CVEs , featuring 8 Critical vulnerabilities, one exploited zero-day, and one disclosed zero-day.

2026-05-26 02:48 UTC
Microsoft Technical Security Notifications

web:www.microsoft.com

Security Update Guide Notifications Microsoft's free Security Update Guide Notifications provide links to security-related software updates and notification of re-released security updates. These notifications are sent via email throughout the month as needed.

2026-05-26 02:48 UTC
Microsoft confirms two major Defender security issues - TechRadar

web:www.techradar.com

Microsoft patches two actively exploited zero‑day flaws in Defender, tracked as CVE‑2026‑41091 (privilege escalation) and CVE‑2026‑45498 (denial of service) Updates were shipped ...

2026-05-26 02:48 UTC

AI Forensic Analysis

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Raw JSON

The full cvelistV5 record. Download as CVE-2026-7541.json.

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