CVE Intelligence
High Memory corruption

CVE-2026-5245 — Cesanta Mongoose mDNS Record mongoose.c handle_mdns_record stack-based overflow

A vulnerability was found in Cesanta Mongoose up to 7.20. This impacts the function handle_mdns_record of the file mongoose.c of the component mDNS Record Handler. Performing a manipulation of the argument buf results in stack-based buffer overflow. Remote exploitation of the attack is possible. A high degree of complexity is needed for the attack. The exploitability is said to be difficult. The exploit has been made public and could be used. Upgrading to version 7.21 will fix this issue. The patch is named 0d882f1b43ff2308b7486a56a9d60cd6dba8a3f1. You should upgrade the affected component. The vendor was contacted early, responded in a very professional manner and quickly released a fixed version of the affected product.

Published Apr 2, 2026 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: VulDB

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.
How the score was calculated
  • EPSS 0.6% (30-day exploitation probability)+7
  • Technical severity (high)+6

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Not confirmed
Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.
EPSS FIRST
0.62%
ahead of 49% of scored CVEs · Oct 14, 2026
Affects
Cesanta
Mongoose
CVSS base
8.1
High · 3 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation
None
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
No
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Partial
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

  • Documented patch — github.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Cesanta Mongoose).
  2. The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
  3. Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
  4. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (memory corruption), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Cesanta Mongoose version 7.10version 7.20version 7.19version 7.18version 7.17version 7.16version 7.15version 7.14
and 13 more version 7.13version 7.12version 7.11version 7.9version 7.8version 7.7version 7.6version 7.5version 7.4version 7.3version 7.2version 7.1version 7.0
Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Cesanta Mongoose ≥ 7.0 and < 7.21 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
High
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
6.3 CVSS 4.0 Medium — — VulDB via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
2.9 CVSS 4.0 Low — — cna@vuldb.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database
8.1 CVSS 3.1 High 2.2 5.9 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
5.6 CVSS 3.1 Medium 2.2 3.4 cna@vuldb.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database
5.6 CVSS 3.1 Medium — — VulDB via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
5.6 CVSS 3.0 Medium — — VulDB via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
5.1 CVSS 2.0 Medium 4.9 6.4 cna@vuldb.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database
5.1 CVSS 2.0 Medium — — VulDB via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov)
Scoring entities (NIST, CNA, ADP) score independently; each score is shown with its origin. For prioritization we use 8.1 (NVD (NIST)) as a conservative provisional reference — not a definitive official score.

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-119 · Buffer Errors (Improper Restriction of Operations within Memory Bounds)

Other CVEs with this weakness →

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 0.62%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
  • Correlate service crashes/restarts with inbound traffic; repeated crashes may indicate attempts.
web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPSendpoint telemetry (EDR)crash dumps

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Affected products added · cesanta/mongoose
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • SSVC assessment updated
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 13, 2026
  • Fix documented
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVSS changed · 8.1
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Analyzed
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVE published
    Apr 2, 2026 · VulDB

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

6 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Cesanta
every CVE for this vendor
Memory corruption
same class
CWE-119
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-73252 Mongoose: Unauthenticated remote heap out-of-bounds read in built-in TLS: off-by-one length check in mg_tls_recv_record() underflows recv_len to SIZE_MAX 1d
  • CVE-2026-73260 Mongoose: Out-of-bounds Read via length-counter underflow in built-in TLS X.509 DER parser 1d
  • CVE-2026-73261 Mongoose: handle_opt() missing opts[1] > len check — 1-byte OOB read corrupts TCP MSS, silences mg_send() per connection 1d
  • CVE-2026-63626 Mongoose: ppp_handle_ipv6cp() uses attacker-controlled length without bounds check — OOB read and heap overflow (PPP/PPPoE, MG_ENABLE_IPV6) 1d
  • CVE-2026-6985 Cesanta Mongoose TCP Option net_builtin.c handle_opt infinite loop Apr 25, 2026
  • CVE-2026-6986 Cesanta Mongoose GCM Authentication Tag tls_aes128.c mg_aes_gcm_decrypt signature verification Apr 25, 2026

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2026-5245 is "Cesanta Mongoose mDNS Record mongoose.c handle_mdns_record stack-based overflow", rated High. It affects Mongoose (Cesanta); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 8.1 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.62% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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