Neo4j's Bolt modern handshake decoder treats an overlong capability bit mask the same way it treats a truncated bit mask. When an unauthenticated client sends a selected protocol version followed by 32 continuation bytes in the capability mask, the decoder resets the reader index and waits for more bytes instead of rejecting the protocol message and closing the channel.



Because the same unread bytes remain at the front of the decoder buffer, appending a terminating byte later does not recover the connection. The decoder re-reads the same first 32 continuation bytes, returns without producing a handshake-finalization message, and leaves the channel open.



This can be triggered before authentication by any client that can reach the Bolt connector.

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History

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 19:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'yes', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Wed, 05 Aug 2026 18:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Neo4j
Neo4j community Edition
Neo4j enterprise Edition
Vendors & Products Neo4j
Neo4j community Edition
Neo4j enterprise Edition

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 17:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description Neo4j's Bolt modern handshake decoder treats an overlong capability bit mask the same way it treats a truncated bit mask. When an unauthenticated client sends a selected protocol version followed by 32 continuation bytes in the capability mask, the decoder resets the reader index and waits for more bytes instead of rejecting the protocol message and closing the channel. Because the same unread bytes remain at the front of the decoder buffer, appending a terminating byte later does not recover the connection. The decoder re-reads the same first 32 continuation bytes, returns without producing a handshake-finalization message, and leaves the channel open. This can be triggered before authentication by any client that can reach the Bolt connector.
Title Unathenticated connection can hold Bolt channel open
Weaknesses CWE-130
References
Metrics cvssV4_0

{'score': 5.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P'}


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cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: Neo4j

Published:

Updated: 2026-08-05T18:41:20.229Z

Reserved: 2026-07-03T12:01:33.324Z

Link: CVE-2026-14587

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-08-05T18:15:47.026Z

cve-icon NVD

No data.

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-08-05T20:00:12Z

Weaknesses