CVE-2025-55293VulnerabilityPublished 18 Aug 2025

CVE-2025-55293: meshtastic firmware · Improper Authentication

Affects meshtastic firmwareSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 9.4 Critical : upgrade to 2.6.3 as a priority.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

9.4Critical

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 39% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 2.6.3

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: Low

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the impacted component are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 18 Aug 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-25.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade meshtastic firmware to 2.6.3.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
meshtastic firmware	Affected <2.6.3	Fixed in 2.6.3

AI-suggested

European organizations should immediately upgrade all Meshtastic devices to firmware version 2.6.3 or later, where this vulnerability is patched. In addition to patching, organizations should implement strict network segmentation to isolate mesh networks from broader enterprise networks, limiting exposure. Monitoring network traffic for anomalous NodeInfo messages, especially those with empty or suspicious public keys, can help detect exploitation attempts. Employing cryptographic validation and integrity checks on NodeInfo updates beyond the firmware's built-in checks can add an additional layer of defense. Organizations should also maintain an inventory of all Meshtastic devices and enforce strict access controls to prevent unauthorized device configuration or message injection. Finally, educating users and administrators about this vulnerability and the importance of timely updates is critical to reduce risk.

Description

Meshtastic is an open source mesh networking solution. Prior to v2.6.3, an attacker can send NodeInfo with a empty publicKey first, then overwrite it with a new key. First sending a empty key bypasses 'if (p.public_key.size > 0) {', clearing the existing publicKey (and resetting the size to 0) for a known node. Then a new key bypasses 'if (info->user.public_key.size > 0) {', and this malicious key is stored in NodeDB. This vulnerability is fixed in 2.6.3.

Impact

For European organizations using Meshtastic mesh networking devices, this vulnerability poses a significant risk. The ability to overwrite node public keys without authentication allows attackers to impersonate legitimate nodes, intercept sensitive communications, and manipulate data integrity within the mesh network. This could lead to unauthorized data disclosure, disruption of critical communications, and potential sabotage of network operations. Organizations relying on Meshtastic for secure communications in sectors such as emergency services, outdoor activities, or industrial IoT could face operational disruptions and data breaches. Given the critical severity and network-level exploitability, the threat is especially concerning for organizations operating in environments where mesh networking is integral to communication infrastructure.

CWE-287Improper Authentication (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighOWASP Top 10 A07:2025: Authentication Failures (opens in a new tab)
When an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct.
MITRE discourages mapping vulnerabilities to this broad entry; the root cause is usually a more specific weakness.
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
Use an authentication framework or library such as the OWASP ESAPI Authentication feature.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
OWASP Authentication (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V2.8.5 (opens in a new tab)
V2.8.4 (opens in a new tab)
V9.2.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Fake the Source of Data (opens in a new tab)
Utilizing REST's Trust in the System Resource to Obtain Sensitive Data (opens in a new tab)
Session Hijacking (opens in a new tab)
Token Impersonation (opens in a new tab)
Upload a Web Shell to a Web Server (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 18 Aug 2025, 18:02 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-287

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats