CVE-2026-33218 HIGH

CVE-2026-33218: NATS has pre-auth server panic via leafnode handling

Vendor Nats-Io
Product nats-server
Weakness CWE-20 · Input validation
Published March 25, 2026
Last update June 30, 2026

CVSS base score

7.5/10
Attack vector Network
Attack complexity Low
Privileges required None
User interaction None
Confidentiality None
Integrity None

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

What the vulnerability does

01Description

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, a client which can connect to the leafnode port can crash the nats-server with a certain malformed message pre-authentication. Versions 2.11.15 and 2.12.6 contain a fix. As a workaround, disable leafnode support if not needed or restrict network connections to the leafnode port, if plausible without compromising the service offered.

Key dates

02Disclosure timeline

March 25, 2026 CVE published
June 30, 2026 Record updated