Auth bypass in Linuxfoundation Nats-Server
CVE-2026-33246
NATS-Server is a High-Performance server for NATS.io, a cloud and edge native messaging system. The nats-server offers a `Nats-Request-Info:` message header, providing information about a request. This is supposed to provide enough information to allow for account/user identification, such that NATS clients could make their own decisions on how to trust a message, provided that they trust the nats-server as a broker. A leafnode connecting to a nats-server is not fully trusted unless the system account is bridged too. Thus identity claims should not have propagated unchecked. Prior to versions 2.11.15 and 2.12.6, NATS clients relying upon the Nats-Request-Info: header could be spoofed. This does not directly affect the nats-server itself, but the CVSS Confidentiality and Integrity scores are based upon what a hypothetical client might choose to do with this NATS header. Versions 2.11.15 and 2.12.6 contain a fix. No known workarounds are available.
Vulnerability class: Broken Authentication
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 6.4 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.002 (13.5th percentile), scored .
Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 13th percentile — 13.5% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.001 · newest: 0.002 · change: +0.001
Affected products
- Linuxfoundation Nats-Server
- Nats-Io Nats-Server — versions < 2.11.15, >= 2.12.0-RC.1, < 2.12.6
Weakness classification (CWE)
References
- github.com/nats-io/nats-server/security/advisories/GHSA-55h8-8g96-x4hj (Vendor Advisory)
- advisories.nats.io/CVE/secnote-2026-08.txt (Vendor Advisory)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2026-33246?
- CVE-2026-33246 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linuxfoundation Nats-Server, classified under Improper Authentication. CVSS score: 6.4/10. Published 2026-03-25.
- How severe is CVE-2026-33246?
- Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 6.4 out of 10.