Cesanta Mongoose GCM Authentication Tag tls_aes128.c mg_aes_gcm_decrypt signature verification
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- High
- Attack requirements
- None
- Impact type
- Security bypass
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · Low · None
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-345.
Summary
A security vulnerability has been detected in Cesanta Mongoose up to 7.20. This issue affects the function mg_aes_gcm_decrypt of the file /src/tls_aes128.c of the component GCM Authentication Tag Handler. Such manipulation leads to improper verification of cryptographic signature. The attack may be performed from remote. A high complexity level is associated with this attack. The exploitability is assessed as difficult. The exploit has been disclosed publicly and may be used. Upgrading to version 7.21 is capable of addressing this issue. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component. VulDB has contacted the vendor early and they confirmed quickly, that this issue got fixed already.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- Poc
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cesanta | Mongoose | 7.0; 7.1; 7.2; 7.3; 7.4; 7.5; 7.6; 7.7; 7.8; 7.9; 7.10; 7.11; 7.12; 7.13; 7.14; 7.15; 7.16; 7.17; 7.18; 7.19; 7.20 | 7.21 | Patch available | CNA |
- Mongoose VendorCesanta Affected 7.0; 7.1; 7.2; 7.3; 7.4; 7.5; 7.6; 7.7; 7.8; 7.9; 7.10; 7.11; 7.12; 7.13; 7.14; 7.15; 7.16; 7.17; 7.18; 7.19; 7.20 Fixed in 7.21 Patch available CNA
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Mongoose (Cesanta) Fixed in 7.21
Vendor assessments
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-6986
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-p5j9-fjff-qrmr
References
More Cesanta Mongoose vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-51393 Mongoose: Content-Length + Transfer-Encoding coexistence enables request smuggling CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.1
- TI-2026-51389 Mongoose: TLS Hostname Verification Bypass via Overly Permissive Wildcard Matching CVSS 4.0CRITICAL 9.1
- TI-2023-02723 Cesanta Mongoose MQTT Message Parsing Heap Overflow CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2020-15865 Buffer overflow in mg_resolve_from_hosts_file in Mongoose 6.18, when reading from a crafted hosts file. CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2023-17032 The HTTP server in Mongoose before 7.10 accepts requests containing negative… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2026-06113 Cesanta Mongoose TCP Option net_builtin.c handle_opt infinite loop CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 6.9
Sources
- CVE-2026-6986 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-6986 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-p5j9-fjff-qrmr · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-6986 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences