VulnerabilityPublished 23 Feb 2026Updated 15 Jul 2026

CVE-2026-21863: valkey · Out-of-bounds Read

Affects valkeySource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High · fixed in 9.0.2 : patch valkey soon.

Data as of 29 Oct 2026, 19:04 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.5High

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

EPSS: 0.8% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 58% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 9.0.2, 8.1.6, 8.0.7 +1

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

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

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: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 23 Feb 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: 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 29 Oct 2026.

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.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity 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 valkey to 9.0.2, 8.1.6, 8.0.7 or 7.2.12; valkey-io/valkey to 7.2.12.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
valkey-iovalkey	Affected >=9.0.0 <9.0.2	Fixed in 9.0.2
valkey-iovalkey	Affected >=8.1.0 <8.1.6	Fixed in 8.1.6
valkey-iovalkey	Affected >=8.0.0 <8.0.7	Fixed in 8.0.7
valkey-iovalkey	Affected <7.2.12	Fixed in 7.2.12
GitHubvalkey-io/valkey`pkg:github/valkey-io/valkey`Other threats	Affected <7.2.12	Fixed in 7.2.12

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

Fixed versions 9.0.2, 8.1.6, 8.0.7, and 7.2.12 of Valkey are available and should be applied to remediate this vulnerability. Additionally, it is recommended to not expose the clusterbus connection directly to end users and to protect this connection with dedicated network ACLs. The vendor advisory from Red Hat provides updated packages and instructions for applying the fix. Patch status is confirmed by the vendor advisory and official fixes are available.

Description

Valkey is a distributed key-value database. Prior to versions 9.0.2, 8.1.6, 8.0.7, and 7.2.12, a malicious actor with access to the Valkey clusterbus port can send an invalid packet that may cause an out bound read, which might result in the system crashing. The Valkey clusterbus packet processing code does not validate that a clusterbus ping extension packet is located within buffer of the clusterbus packet before attempting to read it. Versions 9.0.2, 8.1.6, 8.0.7, and 7.2.12 fix the issue. As an additional mitigation, don't expose the cluster bus connection directly to end users, and protect the connection with its own network ACLs.

Impact

The vulnerability allows an unauthenticated attacker with network access to the Valkey clusterbus port to cause a denial of service by crashing the system through an out-of-bounds read. There is no indication of confidentiality or integrity impact. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 7.5 (High), reflecting network attack vector, low attack complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction, and impact limited to availability.

Summary

Valkey's clusterbus packet processing code does not validate that a clusterbus ping extension packet is within the buffer before reading it, leading to an out-of-bounds read vulnerability (CWE-125). This can be triggered by sending an invalid packet to the clusterbus port, potentially causing a denial of service via system crash. The vulnerability affects Valkey versions prior to 9.0.2, 8.1.6, 8.0.7, and 7.2.12. The issue is addressed in these fixed versions. The vendor advisory from Red Hat confirms the vulnerability and provides updated packages to remediate the issue.

CWE-125Out-of-bounds Read (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessCWE Top 25 (2025): #8
The product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.
Implementation · Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
Architecture and Design · Language Selection
Use a language that provides appropriate memory abstractions.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Overread Buffers (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 15 Jul 2026, 08:32 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-125

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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