CVE-2026-33248 MEDIUM

CVE-2026-33248: NATS has mTLS verify_and_map authentication bypass via incorrect Subject DN matching

Vendor Nats-Io
Product nats-server
Weakness CWE-287 · Improper authentication
Published March 25, 2026
Last update March 26, 2026

CVSS base score

4.2/10
Attack vector Network
Attack complexity High
Privileges required Low
User interaction None
Confidentiality Low
Integrity Low

CVSS vector

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

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, when using mTLS for client identity, with `verify_and_map` to derive a NATS identity from the client certificate's Subject DN, certain patterns of RDN would not be correctly enforced, allowing for authentication bypass. This does require a valid certificate from a CA already trusted for client certificates, and `DN` naming patterns which the NATS maintainers consider highly unlikely. So this is an unlikely attack. Nonetheless, administrators who have been very sophisticated in their `DN` construction patterns might conceivably be impacted. Versions 2.11.15 and 2.12.6 contain a fix. As a workaround, developers should review their CA issuing practices.

Key dates

02Disclosure timeline

March 25, 2026 CVE published
March 26, 2026 Record updated