An exploitable arbitrary memory read vulnerability exists in the MQTT packet-parsing functionality of Cesanta Mongoose 6.13.
An exploitable arbitrary memory read vulnerability exists in the MQTT packet-parsing functionality of Cesanta Mongoose 6.13. It is a heap-based buffer over-read in mg_mqtt_next_subscribe_topic. A specially crafted MQTT SUBSCRIBE packet can cause an arbitrary out-of-bounds memory read potentially resulting in information disclosure and denial of service. An attacker needs to send a specially crafted MQTT packet over the network to trigger this vulnerability.
- Published
- Oct 29, 2018
- Updated
- Jun 16, 2026
- EPSS
- 1.8% · 78th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-125
Sign in to follow · You’ll be notified if a followed record enters KEV, gets an exploit or is updated.
Report tools
Action score
37
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 36 / 40 · 9.1 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 1 / 30 · 1.8%
Affected systems
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| cesanta | mongoose | cpe:2.3:a:cesanta:mongoose |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- cesanta mongoose6.13
Package-level exposure
OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:12 | smplayer | before 18.5.0~ds1-1 | 18.5.0~ds1-1 |
Same product
cesanta: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2019-19307An integer overflow in parse_mqtt in mongoose.c in Cesanta Mongoose 6.16 allows an attacker to achieve remote DoS (infinite loop), or possib51Plan
- CVE-2017-2894An exploitable stack buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the MQTT packet parsing functionality of Cesanta Mongoose 6.8.48Plan
- CVE-2019-12951An issue was discovered in Mongoose before 6.15.40Plan
- CVE-2018-20356An invalid read of 8 bytes due to a use-after-free vulnerability in the mg_http_free_proto_data_cgi function call in mongoose.c in Cesanta M40Plan
- CVE-2018-20355An invalid write of 8 bytes due to a use-after-free vulnerability in the mg_http_free_proto_data_cgi function call in mongoose.c in Cesanta 40Plan
- CVE-2018-20354An invalid read of 8 bytes due to a use-after-free vulnerability during a "return" in the mg_http_get_proto_data function in mongoose.c in C40Plan
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| debian:smplayer | 18.5.0~ds1-1 · Debian:12 | Package registry (OSV) |
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
No dated events beyond publication.
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
No commit or PR link among the references.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
No credits in the CNA record.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
- No account or password is required.
- No user action is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- high · data can be read
- Integrity
- none
- Availability
- high · the service can be disrupted
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- High
- Integrity impact
- None
- Availability impact
- High
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-125 · Out-of-bounds ReadCVSS vector
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H
nvd-primary
Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
ATT&CK techniques
—
Noroxi analysis
No Noroxi analysis for this record yet
We don't hand-write analysis for all 385,000+ vulnerabilities; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.
We use this product, ask for helpChange log
- Fix✗ → ✓
For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →
References
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.