Full Report
Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed a critical security vulnerability in Ollama that, if successfully exploited, could allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to leak its entire process memory. The out-of-bounds read flaw, which likely impacts over 300,000 servers globally, is tracked as CVE-2026-7482 (CVSS score: 9.1). It has been codenamed Bleeding Llama by Cyera. Ollama is a
Analysis Summary
# Vulnerability: Bleeding Llama Out-of-Bounds Read in Ollama
## CVE Details
- **CVE ID:** CVE-2026-7482
- **CVSS Score:** 9.1 (Critical)
- **CWE:** CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read)
## Affected Systems
- **Products:** Ollama (AI Model Inference Engine)
- **Versions:** All versions prior to v0.5.1
- **Configurations:** Systems where the Ollama server API is exposed to the internet or untrusted networks without additional authentication layers. Roughly 300,000 servers are estimated to be impacted globally.
## Vulnerability Description
Codenamed **"Bleeding Llama"** by researchers at Cyera, this flaw is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability. It occurs due to improper validation of input during the processing of specific requests. A remote, unauthenticated attacker can exploit this by sending a specially crafted request to the Ollama API, causing the application to read memory beyond the intended buffer. This results in the leakage of the entire process memory.
## Exploitation
- **Status:** PoC disclosed by researchers; no confirmed reports of widespread exploitation in the wild (as of initial disclosure), but the risk is high due to the volume of exposed servers.
- **Complexity:** Low
- **Attack Vector:** Network (Remote, Unauthenticated)
## Impact
- **Confidentiality:** High (Full leak of process memory, which may contain sensitive prompts, model data, API keys, and other session information).
- **Integrity:** None
- **Availability:** Low (While primarily a data leak, repeated exploitation could lead to instability).
## Remediation
### Patches
- **Update to Ollama v0.5.1 or later.** This version contains the necessary fixes to prevent the out-of-bounds read.
### Workarounds
- **Network Segmentation:** Ensure the Ollama API (default port 11434) is not exposed to the public internet.
- **Authentication:** Implement a reverse proxy (e.g., Nginx, Apache) with mandatory authentication (OAuth, Basic Auth) in front of the Ollama service to prevent unauthenticated access.
- **IP Whitelisting:** Restrict access to the API to trusted IP addresses only.
## Detection
- **Indicators of Compromise:** Monitor for unusual or malformed HTTP requests directed at the Ollama API endpoints.
- **Detection Methods:** Security teams should scan for exposed Ollama instances using tools like Shodan or Censys and verify the version running against the patched 0.5.1 release.
## References
- **Cyera Research:** hxxps[://]www[.]cyera[.]io/blog/bleeding-llama-vulnerability-ollama
- **Ollama GitHub:** hxxps[://]github[.]com/ollama/ollama/releases
- **NVD:** hxxps[://]nvd[.]nist[.]gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-7482