Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-27889

Memory Safety in Linuxfoundation Nats-Server 2.2.0 – 2.11.14

Published
25 March 2026
Modified
10 August 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.5
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0058 45th percentile
Risk Priority 58 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-27889 is a high-severity Integer Overflow or Wraparound (CWE-190) vulnerability in Linuxfoundation Nats-Server. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 45th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2026-27889 affects NATS-Server, a high-performance server for the NATS.io cloud and edge native messaging system. The vulnerability stems from a missing sanity check on WebSockets frames, which can trigger a server panic. It impacts versions starting from 2.2.0 up to but not including 2.11.14 and 2.12.5, classified under CWE-190 with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).

Any unauthenticated attacker able to connect to the exposed WebSockets port can exploit this issue, as the flaw occurs before authentication. Successful exploitation causes a denial-of-service condition by crashing the server, disrupting availability without impacting confidentiality or integrity.

Patches are available in NATS-Server versions 2.11.14 and 2.12.5, with a workaround also provided. The vulnerability is limited to deployments enabling WebSockets and exposing the port to untrusted endpoints; mitigation includes restricting WebSockets usage or network access to the port as a defense-in-depth measure. Additional details are in advisories at https://advisories.nats.io/CVE/secnote-2026-03.txt and https://github.com/nats-io/nats-server/security/advisories/GHSA-pq2q-rcw4-3hr6.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

NATS-Server is a High-Performance server for NATS.io, a cloud and edge native messaging system. Starting in version 2.2.0 and prior to versions 2.11.14 and 2.12.5, a missing sanity check on a WebSockets frame could trigger a server panic in the…

more

nats-server. This happens before authentication, and so is exposed to anyone who can connect to the websockets port. Versions 2.11.14 and 2.12.5 contains a fix. A workaround is available. The vulnerability only affects deployments which use WebSockets and which expose the network port to untrusted end-points. If one is able to do so, a defense in depth of restricting either of these will mitigate the attack.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-58207Same product: Linuxfoundation Nats-Server
CVE-2026-33218Same product: Linuxfoundation Nats-Server
CVE-2026-58209Same product: Linuxfoundation Nats-Server
CVE-2026-58254Same product: Linuxfoundation Nats-Server
CVE-2026-58214Same product: Linuxfoundation Nats-Server
CVE-2026-58211Same product: Linuxfoundation Nats-Server
CVE-2026-33249Same product: Linuxfoundation Nats-Server
CVE-2023-47090Same product: Linuxfoundation Nats-Server
CVE-2026-33217Same product: Linuxfoundation Nats-Server
CVE-2026-33222Same product: Linuxfoundation Nats-Server

Affected Assets

linuxfoundation
nats-server
2.2.0 — 2.11.14 · 2.12.0 — 2.12.5

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.1.1
  • V1.4.2
  • V2.1.1
  • V2.2.2

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Developer testing and evaluation (static analysis, fuzzing, unit tests) directly finds integer overflow defects before deployment.

SI-10 requires validation of information inputs for correctness, directly stopping syntactic validation failures from being introduced or exploitable.

Secure engineering principles require use of safe arithmetic constructs or language features that structurally eliminate integer overflow during calculation.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly require use of safe arithmetic, bounds checks, and testing that prevent integer overflows.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

finds

Security testing in development can detect integer overflows before release.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates input validation and arithmetic checks that prevent integer overflows.

degrades

Application security requirements include bounds checking and safe arithmetic to avoid overflow conditions.

degrades

Secure architecture principles require defensive coding patterns that mitigate integer wraparound risks.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe integer operations and mandate overflow-safe constructs.

References