CVE-2026-5857

9.2 CRITICAL 0.9% exploit odds Fix listed Memory safety Device

What it is

Contiki-NG's MQTT client parse_publish_vhdr() in os/net/app-layer/mqtt/mqtt.c sets topic_len_received=1 before checking topic_len against the 64-byte limit, so an over-length topic returns early but leaves the flag set. On the next TCP segment, tcp_input() re-invokes the parser with topic_received==0, and the persisted topic_len_received==1 skips the length-reading block containing the guard, falling through directly to a memcpy() that uses the unvalidated 16-bit topic_len as the copy length. The 65-byte topic[] destination overruns into adjacent struct fields including the payload_chunk pointer, which subsequent MQTT code dereferences, giving a compromised or attacker-controlled broker an arbitrary-pointer-write primitive. Contiki-NG's MQTT implementation has no TLS support so the connection is plaintext. Impact ranges from information disclosure and denial of service to remote code execution on embedded targets without memory protection.

At a glance

Exploitability: Can be exploited over the network without logging in. High risk of data exposure, data tampering, service disruption.
Exploit odds: 0.9% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).
Fix: A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.

Timeline

2026-08-06 22:18 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2026-09-24 20:06 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
Exploit odds: 0.9% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
Severity: 9.2 CRITICAL (CVSS).
Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.

Details

Published: 2026-08-06 22:18 UTC
Last modified: 2026-09-24 20:06 UTC
Exploit probability: 0.9% · EPSS, next 30 days
Weakness: CWE-787 · Out-of-bounds write
Record status: Deferred

Attack profile CVSS 4.0 · 9.2

Attack vector: Network
Complexity: High
Attack requirements: None
Privileges needed: None
User interaction: None
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: High

Raw vector

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

Is it in your code?

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Fix and advisories

References

NVD record · CVE.org record