jq is a command-line JSON processor. Prior to 1.8.2, comparing two sufficiently deeply nested arrays with the == operator exhausts the C stack on jq's ordinary command-line surface, resulting in denial of service via stack exhaustion (uncontrolled recursion). The crash occurs in jq's recursive structural comparison code, with the recursion repeating through jvp_array_equal() and jv_equal() in src/jv.c when comparing deeply nested arrays; a nearby sort comparator path through jv_cmp() in src/jv_aux.c overflows the stack at a larger nesting depth from the same missing recursion guard. Anyone running jq comparisons on attacker-controlled deeply nested JSON values, or embedding jq in a context where untrusted data can reach the == comparison path, is affected. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.8.2.
| Product | Vendor Advisory | Solution File | Added | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine Linux | — | Upgrade jq | Sep 2, 2026 | Jun 25, 2026 |
| Amazon Linux Ami 2 | — | Upgrade jq-develUpgrade jqUpgrade jq-debuginfo | Jul 8, 2026 | Jul 8, 2026 |
| Debian | — | Upgrade jq | Jul 2, 2026 | Jul 2, 2026 |
| Redhat_linux | — | No solution exists | Jul 17, 2026 | Jun 25, 2026 |
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