x
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-125 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
Mongoose before 7.23 has a flaw in the built-in TCP/IP stack enabled by MG_ENABLE_TCPIP, where handle_opt() does not check that a TCP option's declared length fits the remaining option bytes. This causes an out-of-bounds read (CWE-125) of one byte outside the options area, which is used to set the per-connection MSS. An unauthenticated remote peer can corrupt the MSS so that later mg_send() calls transmit truncated or zero-length payloads while the connection appears healthy.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-29
Description from the CNA
Mongoose is an embedded web server and network library. Prior to 7.23, the built-in TCP/IP stack enabled by MG_ENABLE_TCPIP in src/net_builtin.c does not reject a TCP option whose declared opts[1] length exceeds the remaining option bytes. In handle_opt(), a NOP followed by a truncated MSS option causes opts[3] to be read outside the declared options area and used as the low byte of dmss. An unauthenticated remote peer can corrupt the per-connection MSS value so later mg_send() calls transmit truncated or zero-length application payloads while the TCP connection otherwise appears healthy. This issue is fixed in version 7.23.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- Poc
- Automatable
- Yes
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
Remediation
Upgrade cesanta Mongoose to version 7.23, which fixes this issue.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-29
- Fix · CNA mongoose (cesanta) Fixed in 7.23
Vendor assessments
Timeline
- 2026-10-15 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-73261
- 2026-10-16 Priority changed: MEDIUM → LOW
- 2026-10-16 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-16 CVSS score added · Red Hat
- 2026-10-29 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-10-29 Priority changed: LOW → HIGH
References
More Cesanta vulnerabilities
- TI-2023-23198 Cesanta mjs v2.20.0 was discovered to contain a function pointer hijacking vulnerability… CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-51393 Mongoose: Content-Length + Transfer-Encoding coexistence enables request smuggling CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.1
- TI-2018-15418 Mongoose Web Server 6.9 Denial of Service via Socket Connection CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- 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
Sources
- CVE-2026-73261 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-73261 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- CVE-2026-73261 · 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