CVE-2026-27571

What it is

NATS-Server is a High-Performance server for NATS.io, a cloud and edge native messaging system. The WebSockets handling of NATS messages handles compressed messages via the WebSockets negotiated compression. Prior to versions 2.11.2 and 2.12.3, the implementation bound the memory size of a NATS message but did not independently bound the memory consumption of the memory stream when constructing a NATS message which might then fail validation for size reasons. An attacker can use a compression bomb to cause excessive memory consumption, often resulting in the operating system terminating the server process. The use of compression is negotiated before authentication, so this does not require valid NATS credentials to exploit. The fix, present in versions 2.11.2 and 2.12.3, was to bounds the decompression to fail once the message was too large, instead of continuing on. The vulnerability only affects deployments which use WebSockets and which expose the network port to untrusted end-points.

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited over the network without logging in. High risk of service disruption.

Exploit odds

0.5% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).

Fix

A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.

Timeline

1. 2026-02-24 17:29 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-06-17 10:27 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

• Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
• Exploit odds: 0.5% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
• Severity: 5.9 MEDIUM (CVSS).
• Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.

Details

Published

2026-02-24 17:29 UTC

Last modified

2026-06-17 10:27 UTC

Exploit probability

0.5% · EPSS, next 30 days

Weakness

CWE-409

Record status

Analyzed

Affected

• Linuxfoundation nats-server < 2.11.12
• Linuxfoundation nats-server < 2.12.3

Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 5.9

Attack vector

Network

Complexity

High

Privileges needed

None

User interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

None

Integrity

None

Availability

High

Is it in your code?

Hand this to your coding agent. It searches your project for the affected products and checks versions. Nothing leaves your machine.

Read https://cve-list.com/agent/cve/CVE-2026-27571.md and follow it. Check whether this project is affected by CVE-2026-27571. Read only. Don't change anything and don't upload my code. Tell me yes, no or not sure, with the file as proof.

Copy as ticket · More options · Status badge