CVE-2026-41311 in liquidjs
Summary
by MITRE • 05/09/2026
LiquidJS is a Shopify / GitHub Pages compatible template engine in pure JavaScript. Prior to version 10.25.7, a circular block reference in {% layout %} / {% block %} causes an infinite recursive loop, consuming all available memory (~4GB) and crashing the Node.js process with FATAL ERROR: JavaScript heap out of memory. This allows any user who can submit a Liquid template to perform a Denial of Service attack. This issue has been patched in version 10.25.7.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/18/2026
The vulnerability in LiquidJS represents a critical denial of service condition that stems from improper handling of circular references within template layout and block constructs. This flaw affects versions prior to 10.25.7 and specifically targets the template engine's recursive processing mechanism when encountering {% layout %} and {% block %} tags that reference each other in a circular manner. The issue manifests as an infinite recursive loop that consumes excessive memory resources until the Node.js process crashes with a fatal JavaScript heap out of memory error. The vulnerability directly impacts the core template processing functionality of LiquidJS, which is widely used in Shopify and GitHub Pages environments, making it a significant concern for web application security.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability resides in the template engine's recursive parsing algorithm that fails to detect circular references within the layout and block hierarchy. When a circular reference occurs, the engine enters an infinite loop where it continuously processes the same template constructs without proper termination conditions. This recursive behavior leads to unbounded memory consumption as each iteration adds new stack frames and memory allocations to the process heap. The vulnerability can be exploited by any user with the ability to submit Liquid templates, making it particularly dangerous in multi-tenant environments where user input is processed through the template engine. This represents a classic case of inadequate control flow management in recursive algorithms, which aligns with CWE-674: Uncontrolled Recursion, and demonstrates poor input validation and resource management practices.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, as it can effectively render entire applications unusable through resource exhaustion attacks. In production environments, this vulnerability allows attackers to consume all available memory on the hosting system, potentially causing cascading failures across dependent services. The attack vector is particularly concerning because it requires minimal privileges - any user who can submit templates to the system can trigger the vulnerability. This makes it a prime target for denial of service attacks in shared hosting environments or applications that accept user-generated content through Liquid templates. The memory consumption pattern typically reaches ~4GB before crashing the Node.js process, indicating that the vulnerability can be reliably exploited to cause system instability and service unavailability.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability center on implementing proper circular reference detection and recursion depth limiting within the template engine's parsing logic. The patch released in version 10.25.7 addresses this issue by introducing safeguards that detect and terminate circular references before they can cause memory exhaustion. Organizations should immediately upgrade to version 10.25.7 or later to resolve the vulnerability, as no effective workarounds exist for the affected versions. Additional protective measures include implementing input validation for template submissions, setting resource limits on Node.js processes, and monitoring for unusual memory consumption patterns. From a security architecture perspective, this vulnerability highlights the importance of implementing robust resource management and control flow validation in template engines, particularly those designed for user input processing. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a resource exhaustion technique, specifically targeting the availability of computing resources through memory consumption attacks, making it a critical consideration for application security teams implementing template-based systems.