CVE-2026-42209 | FlashMQ: Division by zero crash when using non-default deferred retained message setting

FlashMQ is a MQTT broker/server, designed for multi-CPU environments. Prior to version 1.26.1, a remote client with retained publish permission can crash the FlashMQ broker when both set_retained_message_defer_timeout and set_retained_message_defer_timeout_spread are configured to non-default values, resulting in denial of service. If anonymous retained publishing is allowed, no authentication is required; otherwise, the attacker needs the corresponding publish permission. This issue has been patched in version 1.26.1.

Published: 2026-05-08 Last update: 2026-05-13 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2026-42209 is rated Low Risk (36.4/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.11%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2026-42209

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-05-09 0.11%

Full EPSS history (1 record total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-42209

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
6.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
2.8 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-42209

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-42209

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
No affected products in dataset.

References for CVE-2026-42209

cvelogic Threat Intelligence