CVE-2026-54156
node-opcua: Unbounded nonce cache enables unauthenticated heap exhaustion DoS
Impact
node-opcua is an OPC UA implementation for TypeScript and Node.js. Prior to 2.166.0, the process-global g_alreadyUsedNonce cache used by nonceAlreadyBeenUsed in packages/node-opcua-secure-channel/source/server/server_secure_channel_layer.ts records nonces from OpenSecureChannelRequest and CreateSession without expiration or a size limit. An unauthenticated remote attacker can repeatedly create sessions with unique nonces, causing entries to persist after session expiry and accumulate across connection cycles even when maxSessions=10 limits concurrent sessions. The resulting unbounded heap growth can exhaust the default Node.js heap and crash the node-opcua server process. This issue is fixed in version 2.166.0.
Affected packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| npm | node-opcua | < 2.166.0 | 2.166.0 |
Weakness classification
References
- NVD record
- CVE.org record
- GitHub advisory
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-6wvw-vrw4-363w
- https://github.com/node-opcua/node-opcua/security/advisories/GHSA-6wvw-vrw4-363w
- https://github.com/node-opcua/node-opcua/commit/b82c2939fe9c658de58da993f2798ec5481d7313
- https://github.com/node-opcua/node-opcua/releases/tag/v2.166.0