CVE-2026-50270: Datadog dd-trace-java denial of service via W3C baggage headers

CVE-2026-50270 · Severity: high · CVSS 7.5 · Published 2026-09-14

Datadog's Java tracing library, used to monitor application performance, contains a flaw in how it processes certain web request headers. An unauthenticated attacker can send specially crafted requests that cause the application to consume excessive CPU and memory. This can lead to a denial-of-service (DoS) condition, making the affected web service unavailable to legitimate users.

Vendors: Datadog, Maven.

Quick answers

Is CVE-2026-50270 exploited in the wild?
No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-50270 being exploited in the wild.
How severe is CVE-2026-50270?
High severity, with a CVSS score of 7.5, published 14 September 2026.
Which products and versions are affected?
Datadog Dd-Trace-Java < 1.62.0; com.datadoghq:dd-java-agent (Maven) < 1.62.0, ECOSYSTEM:introduced=0,fixed=1.62.0.
Is there a fix for CVE-2026-50270?
Yes. com.datadoghq:dd-java-agent (Maven): upgrade to 1.62.0 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.
How is CVE-2026-50270 attacked?
It is attacked over the network, in a software library.
Am I affected by CVE-2026-50270?
Check whether you run Datadog Dd-Trace-Java or com.datadoghq:dd-java-agent (Maven) at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

How to fix

  • com.datadoghq:dd-java-agent (Maven): upgrade to 1.62.0 or later
    # set com.datadoghq:dd-java-agent to 1.62.0 in your pom.xml or build.gradle

Technical details

The dd-trace-java library fails to enforce item-count or byte-size limits when extracting W3C baggage headers, despite having limits (DD_TRACE_BAGGAGE_MAX_ITEMS and DD_TRACE_BAGGAGE_MAX_BYTES) for injection. A remote, unauthenticated attacker can exploit this by sending an HTTP request with a baggage header containing an extremely large number of key-value pairs or a single massive value. The tracer's extraction logic allocates a hash-map entry for every pair, leading to unbounded CPU and memory consumption. This vulnerability is present in the default configuration where baggage propagation is enabled. The issue is resolved in version 1.62.0.

Affected products

  • Datadog dd-trace-java < 1.62.0

Identifiers

  • CVE-2026-50270
  • GHSA-74xj-wh4w-vqxc

Timeline

  • 2026-06-05: disclosed: Initial publication by Datadog
  • 2026-07-15: advisory: GitHub Advisory reviewed and updated

References

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