What happened
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, a malicious client which can connect to the WebSockets port can cause unbounded memory use in the nats-server before authentication; this requires sending a corresponding amount of data. This is a milder variant of CVE-2026-27571. That earlier issue was a compression bomb, this vulnerability is not. Attacks against this new issue thus require significant client bandwidth. Versions 2.11.15 and 2.12.6 contain a fix. As a workaround, disable websockets if not required for project deployment.
Affected versions
nats-server: < 2.11.15; >= 2.12.0-RC.1, < 2.12.6 Fixed: See vendor advisory.
Why it matters
Review the vendor advisory and exposure of the affected product to determine operational impact.
Detection & mitigation
- Apply vendor-provided updates or mitigations.
- Review affected product exposure and access logs.
Public PoC references
No public PoC reference has passed the current publication threshold.