CVE-2026-81636 — Query-complexity limit bypass via first/last pagination arguments in AshGraphql enables denial of service
Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling vulnerability in ash-project ash_graphql allows an unauthenticated client to bypass the configured GraphQL query-complexity …
Published: 2026-08-30 · CVSS: 8.7 · CVSS 4.0
Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling vulnerability in ash-project ash_graphql allows an unauthenticated client to bypass the configured GraphQL query-complexity limit and force an unbounded database read. AshGraphql.Graphql.Resolver.query_complexity/3 multiplies child complexity by the requested page size only when the argument map contains :limit (offset pagination). Relay connections and keyset pagination use first and last, which never match that clause and fall through to the catch-all that returns child_complexity + 1. A nested relay query such as posts(first: 500) { edges { node { comments(first: 500) { ... } } } } therefore scores as trivially cheap while materializing the full fan-out, passing an Absinthe max_complexity cap that rejects the equivalent limit-based query. The fix adds first and last clauses clamped to the action's page size. This issue affects ash_graphql: from 0.16.23 before 1.11.0.
Source: CVE Program · Revision 8b16575c39f1e1810c5e863010da073d2d3285e7