CVE-2026-5857: Contiki-NG · Out-of-bounds Write
Affects Contiki-NGSource CVE Database V5
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.1 High.
Data as of 8 Nov 2026, 14:35 UTC
Thin evidence
One scorer or none| CNA (VulnCheck) | CVSS 3.1 | 8.1 |
|---|---|---|
| CNA (VulnCheck) | CVSS 4.0 | 9.2 |
- CISA SSVC
- Exploitation
- No evidence of active exploitation and no public proof of concept
- Automatable
- Attackers can reliably automate steps 1–4 of the kill chain
- Technical impact
- Limited control over the software or limited information exposure
CISA SSVC assessment, 2026-08-08.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 6 Aug 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 8 Nov 2026.
What to do
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| Contiki-NGContiki-NG | Affected
| Fixed in– |
AI-suggested
Until a fix is available, avoid connecting Contiki-NG MQTT clients to untrusted or compromised brokers. Consider network-level protections to restrict MQTT broker access. Monitor vendor channels for updates and apply patches promptly once released.
Description
CVE-2026-5857 is a high-severity out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Contiki-NG's MQTT client. The flaw occurs in the parse_publish_vhdr() function where an over-length MQTT topic causes improper handling of a length flag, leading to a memcpy() operation that overruns a 65-byte buffer. This buffer overflow can overwrite adjacent memory, including a pointer used later by the MQTT code, enabling an attacker controlling the MQTT broker to perform arbitrary pointer writes. The MQTT implementation lacks TLS, so communications are unencrypted. The impact ranges from information disclosure and denial of service to remote code execution on embedded devices without memory protection.