In tinyMQTT commit 6226ade15bd4f97be2d196352e64dd10937c1962 (2024-02-18), the broker mishandles...

Description

In tinyMQTT commit 6226ade15bd4f97be2d196352e64dd10937c1962 (2024-02-18), the broker mishandles protocol violations during CONNECT packet parsing. When receiving a CONNECT packet with a zero-length Client ID while CleanSession is set to 0, the broker correctly replies with a CONNACK return code 0x02 (Identifier Rejected) but fails to explicitly close the TCP connection. Since the surrounding connection teardown logic is not guaranteed to execute, each such invalid CONNECT attempt leaves the underlying socket open. Repeated attempts cause server-side resource exhaustion due to accumulating file descriptors and memory usage, potentially resulting in denial of service.

Basic information

Type
unreviewed
Severity
high
Advisory on GitHub
Open advisory ↗
Repository advisory
Source code
Not specified
Published (advisory)
2026-05-18 18:31:30 UTC
Updated
2026-05-18 18:31:37 UTC
NVD published
2026-05-18

EPSS Score

Score Percentile
0.05% 15.99%

CVSS Scores

Base score Version Severity Vector
7.5 3.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
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.

Identifiers

CWEs

CWE id Name
CWE-400 Uncontrolled Resource Consumption

References

cvelogic Threat Intelligence