CVE-2026-33248
NATS has mTLS verify_and_map authentication bypass via incorrect Subject DN matching
No known exploitation. EPSS puts it in the 4th percentile. Fixed in 2.11.15.
No public exploit knownFix2.11.15Upgrade to this build
No ready-made check. Neither Nuclei nor OpenVAS has one for this CVE yet.
What to do
Find your product and version, then upgrade to the build on the right.
- Nats-io Nats-serverAffected: < 2.11.15Upgrade to: not statedAffected: >= 2.12.0-RC.1, < 2.12.6Upgrade to: not statedStated by: CVE record
- Linuxfoundation Nats-serverAffected: < 2.11.15Upgrade to: 2.11.15Stated by: NVD
Versions as the sources state them. Full version matrix after sign-in
What it is
From the CVE record
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.
In plain language
No plain-language summary for this CVE yet.
Exploitation
Where each signal puts this CVE on the scale from published to confirmed exploited.
- CISA KEV
Not in the catalog. CISA has not confirmed exploitation.
- Public exploits
No public exploit or proof of concept found in the sources we track.
- EPSS
0.1% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, which ranks it in the 4th percentile of scored CVEs.
Exploit Prediction Scoring System, FIRST.org. A probability, not a confirmation.
Lifecycle
5 events over 1 day, from the signal feeds we watch.
- Patch availablerecord updated
- Publishedweakness classified, att&ck mapped
Affected products
Technical detail
CVSS 3.1 vector
Open in the CVSS calculatorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
Scored 4.2 by NVD.
How it is reached
- Attack Vector NetworkExploitable remotely over the network without any special conditions
- Attack Complexity HighRequires specific conditions like a race condition or non-default configuration
- Privileges Required LowRequires basic user-level privileges
- User Interaction NoneNo user interaction needed — fully automated exploitation
Scope
- Scope UnchangedImpact is limited to the vulnerable component itself
Impact if exploited
- Confidentiality LowSome restricted information is disclosed, but limited in scope
- Integrity LowData modification is possible but limited in scope or consequence
- Availability NoneNo availability impact
Weaknesses
ATT&CK techniques
Mapped from the weaknesses above (CWE to ATT&CK), not observed in attacks.
Sources
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