---
id: CVE-2026-119189
title: >-
  Forge: X.509 pathLenConstraint not enforced by verifyCertificateChain() for CA
  certificates without keyUsage
summary: >-
  Forge (also called node-forge) is a native implementation of Transport Layer
  Security in JavaScript. Prior to 1.4.1, node-forge enforced an X.509 CA
  certificate's basicConstraints.pathLenConstraint only when that certificate
  also carried…
severity: medium
cvss: 5.9
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N'
cvssSource: cna
cwe:
  - CWE-295
vendor: digitalbazaar
product: forge
affected:
  - forge < 1.4.1
published: '2026-10-29'
updated: '2026-10-29'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-29T19:23:25.238Z'
source: CVEORG
sourceUrl: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-119189'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/digitalbazaar/forge/security/advisories/GHSA-h46v-rmh6-fq4f
    label: >-
      https://github.com/digitalbazaar/forge/security/advisories/GHSA-h46v-rmh6-fq4f
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/digitalbazaar/forge/commit/696db92348623e88cc63c35f0a89ede481d55ad0
    label: >-
      https://github.com/digitalbazaar/forge/commit/696db92348623e88cc63c35f0a89ede481d55ad0
  - url: 'https://github.com/digitalbazaar/forge/releases/tag/v1.4.1'
    label: 'https://github.com/digitalbazaar/forge/releases/tag/v1.4.1'
tags:
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00165
epssPercentile: 0.05754
ingestedAt: '2026-11-01T23:03:55.446Z'
---

## Overview

Forge (also called node-forge) is a native implementation of Transport Layer Security in JavaScript. Prior to 1.4.1, node-forge enforced an X.509 CA certificate's basicConstraints.pathLenConstraint only when that certificate also carried a keyUsage extension. Exploitation requires a path-length-constrained CA without keyUsage that chains to a root trusted by the application, and an attacker who holds that CA's private key or obtains a subordinate CA certificate from it. The attacker could then construct a chain exceeding the declared path length that still passed pki.verifyCertificateChain(). Public web PKI CA certificates normally include keyUsage; private PKIs with CA certificates created without it are more likely to be affected. This issue is fixed in version 1.4.1.

## Affected

- `forge < 1.4.1`

## Remediation

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