CVE-2026-61551 — Icinga 2: Stack overflow via deeply nested JSON objects
Icinga 2 is an open source monitoring system. Prior to 2.14.9, 2.15.4, and 2.16.2, parsing deeply nested JSON can exhaust the call stack because nesting depth is not bounded. The affected JSON parsing paths are reachable by unauthenticated network clients through the Icinga 2 service on TCP port 5665, allowing a remote attacker to crash the process, while possible code execution has not been demonstrated. This issue is fixed in versions 2.14.9, 2.15.4, and 2.16.2.
Who exploits it and how urgent it is
A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.
How the score was calculated
- EPSS 0.9% (30-day exploitation probability)+9
- Technical severity (high)+6
- Automatable exploitation (SSVC)+3
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.
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.
Remediation
Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.
No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.
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.
- Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Icinga Icinga2).
- The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
- No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
- Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (denial of service), errors and authentication anomalies.
Affected scope
Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.
Attack characteristics
The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.
Every base score collected
Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.
| Score | Version | Severity | Expl. | Impact | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.6 | CVSS 3.1 | High | 3.9 | 4.7 | security-advisories@github.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 8.6 | CVSS 3.1 | High | — | — | GitHub_M via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H (score shown at the top: security-advisories@github.com) Weakness MITRE
Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.
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).
- Track CPU/memory spikes and availability drops correlated with request patterns.
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first.
- 2026
- Affected products added · icinga/icinga2
- SSVC assessment updated
- Record published
- CVSS changed · 8.6
- Source status changed · → Awaiting Analysis
- Record created in this database
- CVE published
Source activity
Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.
- 1× Official description updated · Oct 15, 2026 – Oct 15, 2026
References
10 on the record
- github.com/Icinga/icinga2/security/advisories/GHSA-wh38-wg57-5w7g
- github.com/Icinga/icinga2/releases/tag/v2.15.4
- github.com/Icinga/icinga2/releases/tag/v2.14.9
- github.com/Icinga/icinga2/commit/391504eaa9ed9aee81f84008c57ec821974b74ee
- icinga.com/blog/icinga2-security-release-v2-16-2
- github.com/Icinga/icinga2/releases/tag/v2.16.2
- github.com/Icinga/icinga2/commit/4964d2444ca5c4fae9036054554e1c6e0025fb89
- github.com/Icinga/icinga2/commit/ed163a8aa9d296820dd2ad14c47bf3f6a3fcce7d
- github.com/Icinga/icinga2/pull/10908
- github.com/Icinga/icinga2/commit/3d9166ff52ff1a64a286c39af57957d63442c137
Elsewhere on this site
Related CVEs (same products)
- High CVE-2026-61552 Icinga 2 DSL Injection via Unescaped Import Template Name 27d
- Critical CVE-2026-61550 Icinga 2: Improper access control for JSON-RPC update certificate messages 27d
- Medium CVE-2026-24413 Icinga has insecure permission of %ProgramData%\icinga2\var on Windows Jan 29, 2026
- Medium CVE-2025-61909 Icinga 2 signals sent as root to processes based on PID file written by the Icinga 2 daemon user Oct 16, 2025
- Medium CVE-2025-61907 Icinga 2 API users could access restricted values in filter expressions Oct 16, 2025
- Medium CVE-2025-61908 Icinga 2 Denial of Service (DoS) By Dereferencing Invalid Reference Oct 16, 2025
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 fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
- 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-2026-61551 is "Icinga 2: Stack overflow via deeply nested JSON objects", rated High. It affects Icinga2 (Icinga); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 8.6 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.94% 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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