---
id: CVE-2026-29036
title: >-
  cJSON versions 1.5.0 through 1.7.19 contain an incorrectly-resolved name or
  reference vulnerability in the decode_pointer_inplace() function within
  cJSON_Utils.c that allows unauthenticated attackers to cause JSON Patch
  operations to tar…
summary: >-
  cJSON versions 1.5.0 through 1.7.19 contain an incorrectly-resolved name or
  reference vulnerability in the decode_pointer_inplace() function within
  cJSON_Utils.c that allows unauthenticated attackers to cause JSON Patch
  operations to tar…
severity: high
cvss: 7.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N'
cwe:
  - CWE-706
published: '2026-08-11'
updated: '2026-09-24'
sourceUpdated: '2026-09-24T20:30:25.373'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-29036'
references:
  - url: 'https://github.com/DaveGamble/cJSON'
    label: disclosure@vulncheck.com
  - url: >-
      https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/cjson-wrong-key-modification-via-json-pointer-escape-decoding
    label: disclosure@vulncheck.com
tags:
  - nvd
epss: 0.00444
epssPercentile: 0.3585
ingestedAt: '2026-09-24T20:51:40.196Z'
---

## Overview

cJSON versions 1.5.0 through 1.7.19 contain an incorrectly-resolved name or reference vulnerability in the decode_pointer_inplace() function within cJSON_Utils.c that allows unauthenticated attackers to cause JSON Patch operations to target wrong object keys by supplying crafted JSON Pointer escape sequences (~0 or ~1) in patch paths. Attackers can submit malicious RFC 6902 JSON Patch input to applications using cJSONUtils_ApplyPatches() or cJSONUtils_ApplyPatchesCaseSensitive() to silently corrupt data or delete unintended keys, potentially bypassing authorization controls in applications that rely on JSON Patch for access-controlled data modification.

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.