CVE-2026-54412
MQTT-C Heap Out-of-Bounds Read and Integer Underflow in mqtt_unpack_publish_response()
LiamBindle MQTT-C versions prior to 1.1.7 contain a heap-based out-of-bounds read and integer underflow in the mqtt_unpack_publish_response() function in src/mqtt.c. A remote unauthenticated attacker controlling an MQTT broker, or capable of injecting MQTT traffic into an unencrypted session, can crash a subscribed MQTT-C client and potentially disclose adjacent heap memory by sending a single crafted PUBLISH packet.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
7.8
MQTT-C Heap Out-of-Bounds Read and Integer Underflow in mqtt_unpack_publish_response()
LiamBindle MQTT-C versions prior to 1.1.7 contain a heap-based out-of-bounds read and integer underflow in the mqtt_unpack_publish_response() function in src/mqtt.c. A remote unauthenticated attacker controlling an MQTT broker, or capable of injecting MQTT traffic into an unencrypted session, can crash a subscribed MQTT-C client and potentially disclose adjacent heap memory by sending a single crafted PUBLISH packet.
- Record
CVE-2026-54412- CVSS 4.0
- 7.8 High
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/AU:Y/V:D - CVSS 3.1
- 8.2 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-125, CWE-191
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
EUVDEUVD-2026-36663
7.8
LiamBindle MQTT-C versions prior to 1.1.7 contain a heap-based out-of-bounds read and integer underflow in the mqtt_unpack_publish_response() function in src/mqtt.c. A remote unauthenticated attacker controlling an MQTT broker, or capable of injecting MQTT traffic into an unencrypted session, can crash a subscribed MQTT-C client and potentially disclose adjacent heap memory by sending a single crafted PUBLISH packet.
- Record
EUVD-2026-36663- CVSS 4.0
- 7.8 High
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/AU:Y/V:D - Updated
- 2026-11-05
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-28cw-rpqc-wqqj
7.8
LiamBindle MQTT-C through version 1.1.6 contains a heap-based out-of-bounds read and integer...
LiamBindle MQTT-C through version 1.1.6 contains a heap-based out-of-bounds read and integer underflow in the mqtt_unpack_publish_response() function in src/mqtt.c that allows a remote unauthenticated attacker controlling an MQTT broker - or able to inject MQTT traffic into an unencrypted session - to crash a subscribed MQTT-C client and potentially disclose adjacent heap memory by sending a single crafted PUBLISH packet. The function validates only that the fixed-header remaining_length is at least 4, then reads the 16-bit topic_name_size field from the broker-controlled packet and advances the parse pointer by that value without verifying that topic_name_size plus the surrounding overhead fits within remaining_length; it subsequently computes application_message_size as remaining_length - topic_name_size - 2 (QoS 0) or - 4 (QoS greater than 0) in unsigned arithmetic, producing an integer underflow that is then passed to memmove(). A PUBLISH packet with topic_name_size = 0xFFFF and remaining_length = 7 advances the parse pointer 65535 bytes past the receive buffer (out-of-bounds read) and causes an application_message_size near 2^32, crashing the process when the resulting memmove() is executed.
- Record
GHSA-28cw-rpqc-wqqj- CVSS 4.0
- 7.8 High
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:Y/R:X/V:D/RE:X/U:X - CVSS 3.1
- 8.2 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-125
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
NVD
7.8
LiamBindle MQTT-C versions prior to 1.1.7 contain a heap-based out-of-bounds read and integer underflow in the mqtt_unpack_publish_response() function in src/mqtt.c. A remote unauthenticated attacker controlling an MQTT broker, or capable of injecting MQTT traffic into an unencrypted session, can crash a subscribed MQTT-C client and potentially disclose adjacent heap memory by sending a single crafted PUBLISH packet.
- Record
CVE-2026-54412- CVSS 4.0
- 7.8 High
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:Y/R:X/V:D/RE:X/U:X - CVSS 3.1
- 8.2 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-125, CWE-191
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
OSV
7.8
MQTT-C Heap Out-of-Bounds Read and Integer Underflow in mqtt_unpack_publish_response()
LiamBindle MQTT-C versions prior to 1.1.7 contain a heap-based out-of-bounds read and integer underflow in the mqtt_unpack_publish_response() function in src/mqtt.c. A remote unauthenticated attacker controlling an MQTT broker, or capable of injecting MQTT traffic into an unencrypted session, can crash a subscribed MQTT-C client and potentially disclose adjacent heap memory by sending a single crafted PUBLISH packet.
- Record
CVE-2026-54412- CVSS 4.0
- 7.8 High
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/AU:Y/V:D - Weakness
- CWE-125, CWE-191
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| references | NVD, OSV | |
| description, facts, references | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories | |
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2026-54412 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.8) in Liambindle Mqtt-c, published June 14, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.43%, the 37th percentile. No source names a fixed version.
References
github.com/LiamBindle/MQTT-C
github.com/LiamBindle/MQTT-C/blob/v1.1.6/src/mqtt.c
github.com/LiamBindle/MQTT-C/pull/208
github.com/LiamBindle/MQTT-C/releases/tag/v1.1.7
cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/125.html
cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/191.html
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-54412
github.com/advisories/GHSA-28cw-rpqc-wqqj
github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/54xxx/CVE-2026-54412.json