Evidence-led vulnerability intelligence · 2026-11-04 01:48 IST

CVE-2026-121577

Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity (CWE-1333) in generate_regex() (whatstk/whatsapp/parser.py) in whatstk from 0.2.0 before 0.9.0 allows a party that supplies a chat export to consume the CPU of the process that parses it for an unbounded time, because the function builds the header regular expression by replacing each %x code with its named capture group and leaves every other character of the header format in the pattern unescaped. A header whose date separator is a regular expression metacharacter therefore alters the pattern instead of matching itself: a separator of + quantifies the preceding capture group, giving (?P<day>\d{1,2})+(?P<month>\d{1,2})+(?P<year>\d{2,4}), and a run of digits that cannot complete the header then makes the engine try every way of partitioning that run. Header auto detection is enabled by default and derives the format from the text of the file, so the separator is taken from the export itself and no header format has to be passed by the caller. Separators of (, ) and \ instead raise re.PatternError, separators of *, | and ? raise TypeError, and separators of ^ and $ raise KeyError, none of which the library catches. This results in the parse of a file of a few hundred bytes consuming CPU without completing, or in an uncaught exception in the calling program.

MEDIUM · 6.7

Executive briefing

The source record describes: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity (CWE-1333) in generate_regex() (whatstk/whatsapp/parser.py) in whatstk from 0.2.0 before 0.9.0 allows a party that supplies a chat export to consume the CPU of the process that parses it for an unbounded time, because the function builds the header regular expression by replacing each %x code with its named capture group and leaves every other character of the header format in the pattern unescaped. A header whose date separator is a regular expression metacharacter therefore alters the pattern instead of matching itself: a separator of + quantifies the preceding capture group, giving (?P<day>\d{1,2})+(?P<month>\d{1,2})+(?P<year>\d{2,4}), and a run of digits that cannot complete the header then makes the engine try every way of partitioning that run. Header auto detection is enabled by default and derives the format from the text of the file, so the separator is taken from the export itself and no header format has to be passed by the caller. Separators of (, ) and \ instead raise re.PatternError, separators of *, | and ? raise TypeError, and separators of ^ and $ raise KeyError, none of which the library catches. This results in the parse of a file of a few hundred bytes consuming CPU without completing, or in an uncaught exception in the calling program. The practical risk depends on whether an affected product/version is present, reachable and configured in an exploitable way. Review the affected-product evidence and linked vendor advisories before assigning exposure status.

Assessment: Potential exposure only — validate the installed product, exact version, configuration and vendor applicability before treating an asset as confirmed vulnerable.

Evidence confidence: Limited Evidence-derived, not an exploitability verdict

Severity & attack characteristics

6.7 / 10 · 4.0

CVSS vector:
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

Attack vectorL
Attack complexityL
Attack requirementsN
Privileges requiredN
User interactionA
ScopeX

Technical explanation & impact

The technical mechanism is not expanded beyond the source description unless a referenced advisory supplies additional evidence. Read the linked vendor/CERT advisories for root-cause detail.

Potential impact must be interpreted from the published CVSS impact metrics and the affected component. A CVSS impact score is not proof that a particular asset is exploitable.

Weakness classification

CWE-1333

Affected products and versions

NVD has not supplied machine-readable vulnerable CPE product/version entries for this CVE. This is an information gap, not proof that no products are affected. Check the vendor advisory references below.

Remediation & validation

  1. Identify exposure by comparing the affected product and version ranges with your asset inventory, SBOM and externally exposed services.
  2. Review the linked vendor security advisory or patch notes. Upgrade to a vendor-confirmed fixed release; do not infer a fixed version from the CVE description.
  3. Until patched, consider restricting network access or disabling the affected feature where operationally safe. These are temporary controls, not a substitute for a vendor fix.
  4. Validate the remediation with a version check and vulnerability rescan, then retain change evidence.

No fixed version is displayed unless it is explicitly established by a vendor advisory. Follow the vendor's release notes for exact product and branch applicability.

Vendor advisories, patches & exploit references

Information gaps & confidence notes

These gaps indicate missing source data. CVE Watch does not fill them with guessed product, exploit or patch details.

Last enrichment: 2026-11-06T20:47:49+00:00 · Source last modified: 2026-11-06T20:17:19.773

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Threat intelligence, made actionable · CVE data sourced from the NVD