run-llama llama_index up to 0.12.37 JSONReader recursion

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability has been found in run-llama llama_index up to 0.12.37 and classified as critical. This issue affects some unknown processing of the component JSONReader. The manipulation leads to recursion. This vulnerability is listed as CVE-2025-5472. The attack may be initiated remotely. There is no available exploit. The affected component should be upgraded.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in run-llama llama_index up to 0.12.37. It has been rated as critical. This issue affects an unknown part of the component JSONReader. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a recursion vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-674. The product does not properly control the amount of recursion that takes place, consuming excessive resources, such as allocated memory or the program stack. Impacted is availability. The summary by CVE is:

The JSONReader in run-llama/llama_index versions 0.12.28 is vulnerable to a stack overflow due to uncontrolled recursive JSON parsing. This vulnerability allows attackers to trigger a Denial of Service (DoS) by submitting deeply nested JSON structures, leading to a RecursionError and crashing applications. The root cause is the unsafe recursive traversal design and lack of depth validation, which makes the JSONReader susceptible to stack overflow when processing deeply nested JSON. This impacts the availability of services, making them unreliable and disrupting workflows. The issue is resolved in version 0.12.38.

It is possible to read the advisory at huntr.com. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2025-5472 since 06/02/2025. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be initiated remotely. No form of authentication is needed for a successful exploitation. It demands that the victim is doing some kind of user interaction. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not publicly available. The attack technique deployed by this issue is T1499 according to MITRE ATT&CK.

Upgrading to version 0.12.38 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch c032843a02ce38fd8f284b2aa5a37fd1c17ae635 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at github.com. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at EUVD (EUVD-2025-20209). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Vendor

• run-llama

Name

• llama_index

Version

• 0.12.0
• 0.12.1
• 0.12.2
• 0.12.3
• 0.12.4
• 0.12.5
• 0.12.6
• 0.12.7
• 0.12.8
• 0.12.9
• 0.12.10
• 0.12.11
• 0.12.12
• 0.12.13
• 0.12.14
• 0.12.15
• 0.12.16
• 0.12.17
• 0.12.18
• 0.12.19
• 0.12.20
• 0.12.21
• 0.12.22
• 0.12.23
• 0.12.24
• 0.12.25
• 0.12.26
• 0.12.27
• 0.12.28
• 0.12.29
• 0.12.30
• 0.12.31
• 0.12.32
• 0.12.33
• 0.12.34
• 0.12.35
• 0.12.36
• 0.12.37

License

• open-source

Website

• Product: https://github.com/run-llama/llama_index/

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Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

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