NATS Server: Incomplete Stripping of Nats-Request-Info Header Allows Identity Spoofing
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Security bypass
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- Low · Low · None
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 2 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA, GitHub and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-290.
Summary
NATS-Server is a High-Performance server for NATS.io, a cloud and edge native messaging system. Prior to versions 2.11.15 and 2.12.6, the NATS message header `Nats-Request-Info:` is supposed to be a guarantee of identity by the NATS server, but the stripping of this header from inbound messages was not fully effective. An attacker with valid credentials for any regular client interface could thus spoof their identity to services which rely upon this header. Versions 2.11.15 and 2.12.6 contain a fix. No known workarounds are available.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| backstage | nats-server | before 2.11.15; 2.12.0-RC.1 to before 2.12.6 | 2.11.15, 2.12.6 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | github.com/nats-io/nats-server/v2 (Go) | before 2.11.15 | 2.11.15 | Patch available | GHSA-pwx7-fx9r-hr4h |
| — | github.com/nats-io/nats-server/v2 (Go) | 2.12.0-RC.1 to before 2.12.6 | 2.12.6 | Patch available | GHSA-pwx7-fx9r-hr4h |
| — | github.com/nats-io/nats-server (Go) | all versions | — | No fix listed | GHSA-pwx7-fx9r-hr4h |
- nats-server Vendorbackstage Affected before 2.11.15; 2.12.0-RC.1 to before 2.12.6 Fixed in 2.11.15, 2.12.6 Patch available CNA
- github.com/nats-io/nats-server/v2 (Go) Vendor— Affected before 2.11.15 Fixed in 2.11.15 Patch available GHSA-pwx7-fx9r-hr4h
- github.com/nats-io/nats-server/v2 (Go) Vendor— Affected 2.12.0-RC.1 to before 2.12.6 Fixed in 2.12.6 Patch available GHSA-pwx7-fx9r-hr4h
- github.com/nats-io/nats-server (Go) Vendor— Affected all versions Fixed in — No fix listed GHSA-pwx7-fx9r-hr4h
Remediation
- Fix · CNA nats-server (nats-io) Fixed in 2.11.15, 2.12.6
- Fix · GHSA-pwx7-fx9r-hr4h github.com/nats-io/nats-server/v2 (Go) Fixed in 2.11.15 Advisory →
- Fix · GHSA-pwx7-fx9r-hr4h github.com/nats-io/nats-server/v2 (Go) Fixed in 2.12.6 Advisory →
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Multicluster Global Hub | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-33223
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-pwx7-fx9r-hr4h
References
More backstage Nats-server vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-22233 NATS: Pre-auth remote server crash via WebSocket frame length overflow in wsRead CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2022-11116 NATS nats-server 2.2.0 through 2.7.4 allows directory traversal because of an unintended… CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2020-16319 The JWT library in NATS nats-server before 2.1.9 has Incorrect Access Control because of… CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-25637 NATS has MQTT plaintext password disclosure CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.6
- TI-2022-08320 NATS nats-server before 2.7.2 has Incorrect Access Control. CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2026-41950 NATS Server: Pre-auth server crash via double INFO in leafnode handshake CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
Sources
- CVE-2026-33223 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-33223 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-pwx7-fx9r-hr4h · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-33223 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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