Buffer overflow in Mapserver

CVE-2026-33721

MapServer is a system for developing web-based GIS applications. Starting in version 4.2 and prior to version 8.6.1, a heap-buffer-overflow write in MapServer’s SLD (Styled Layer Descriptor) parser lets a remote, unauthenticated attacker crash the MapServer process by sending a crafted SLD with more than 100 Threshold elements inside a ColorMap/Categorize structure (commonly reachable via WMS GetMap with SLD_BODY). Version 8.6.1 patches the issue.

Vulnerability class: Buffer Overflow

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 5.3 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.008 (55.4th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 55th percentile — 55.4% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2026-33721: held from 0.009 to 0.008.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.009 · newest: 0.008 · change: -0.000

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-33721?
CVE-2026-33721 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Mapserver, classified under Out-of-bounds Write. CVSS score: 5.3/10. Published 2026-03-27.
How severe is CVE-2026-33721?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.3 out of 10.