CVE-2026-27460 Overview
CVE-2026-27460 is a Denial of Service (DoS) vulnerability in Tandoor Recipes, a popular open-source application for managing recipes, planning meals, and building shopping lists. The vulnerability exists in the recipe import functionality, where an authenticated user can exploit improper handling of decompression ratio (CWE-409) by uploading a maliciously crafted ZIP file, commonly known as a ZIP bomb. This can crash the server or significantly degrade its performance, disrupting service availability for all users.
Critical Impact
Authenticated attackers can upload a ZIP bomb through the recipe import feature, causing server crash or severe performance degradation, effectively denying service to legitimate users.
Affected Products
- Tandoor Recipes versions prior to 2.6.5
Discovery Timeline
- 2026-04-10 - CVE-2026-27460 published to NVD
- 2026-04-14 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2026-27460
Vulnerability Analysis
This vulnerability stems from improper handling of decompression ratio in the recipe import functionality of Tandoor Recipes. The application accepts ZIP file uploads for importing recipes but fails to validate or limit the decompression ratio of uploaded archives. A ZIP bomb is a malicious archive file designed to crash or render useless the program or system reading it. When expanded, these files can decompress to petabytes of data from a relatively small compressed file, exhausting server memory and CPU resources.
The attack requires authentication, meaning an attacker must have valid credentials to access the recipe import feature. However, once authenticated, the attacker can repeatedly upload ZIP bomb files to exhaust server resources. The vulnerability affects the availability of the application without impacting confidentiality or integrity of the stored data.
Root Cause
The root cause is improper handling of decompression ratio (CWE-409) in the recipe import functionality. The application does not implement safeguards to detect or limit the expansion ratio of compressed files during the import process. This oversight allows maliciously crafted ZIP archives to decompress to sizes orders of magnitude larger than their compressed form, overwhelming server resources.
Attack Vector
An authenticated attacker can exploit this vulnerability through the following attack path:
- Authenticate to the Tandoor Recipes application with valid user credentials
- Navigate to the recipe import functionality
- Upload a maliciously crafted ZIP bomb file disguised as a recipe archive
- The server attempts to decompress the file, triggering resource exhaustion
- Server crashes or becomes unresponsive, denying service to all users
The vulnerability is accessible over the network and requires low attack complexity. While authentication is required, any user with import privileges can exploit this flaw. The attack does not require user interaction beyond the initial authentication.
Detection Methods for CVE-2026-27460
Indicators of Compromise
- Abnormal memory consumption spikes on servers hosting Tandoor Recipes
- Server crashes or unresponsiveness following recipe import operations
- Unusually large file uploads through the recipe import endpoint
- Multiple failed import attempts from the same authenticated user
Detection Strategies
- Monitor server resource utilization (CPU, memory) for sudden spikes during import operations
- Implement file size and decompression ratio logging for the recipe import functionality
- Set up alerts for memory exhaustion events on application servers
- Review application logs for patterns of repeated import failures or timeouts
Monitoring Recommendations
- Configure memory and CPU threshold alerts on servers running Tandoor Recipes
- Enable detailed logging for all file upload operations in the application
- Monitor for unusual patterns in authenticated user activity, particularly around import features
- Implement network-level monitoring for large file uploads to the application endpoint
How to Mitigate CVE-2026-27460
Immediate Actions Required
- Upgrade Tandoor Recipes to version 2.6.5 or later immediately
- Restrict access to the recipe import functionality to trusted users only until patching is complete
- Implement upload size limits at the web server or reverse proxy level as a temporary measure
- Monitor server resources closely for signs of exploitation
Patch Information
The vulnerability has been fixed in Tandoor Recipes version 2.6.5. Organizations should upgrade to this version or later to remediate the vulnerability. The security advisory is available at the GitHub Security Advisory (GHSA-w8pq-4pwf-r2m8) for additional details on the fix.
Workarounds
- Implement strict file upload size limits at the reverse proxy or web server level
- Temporarily disable the recipe import feature if not critical to operations
- Restrict authenticated access to import functionality to only trusted administrators
- Deploy resource limits (cgroups, container memory limits) to prevent complete server exhaustion
# Example: Nginx configuration to limit upload size
client_max_body_size 10M;
# Example: Docker memory limit for Tandoor container
docker run -d --memory="2g" --memory-swap="2g" tandoor/recipes:2.6.5
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
