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core-moos EUVDEUVD-2026-70776

| CVE-2026-85442 HIGH
Memory Allocation with Excessive Size Value (CWE-789)
2026-09-03 VulnCheck GHSA-7vgj-fwc9-r6gh
8.7
CVSS 4.0 · Vendor: VulnCheck
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Identify reachable MOOSDB port
  2. Delivery
    Craft wire packet with oversized m_nMsgLen field
  3. Exploit
    Send packet before auth handshake
  4. Execution
    Server allocates unbounded heap buffer
  5. Persist
    Memory exhaustion
  6. Impact
    MOOSDB process crash or hang

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Memory allocation limits
Exploitation Conditions

No special conditions are required - the vulnerable code path is reached before client authentication completes, meaning any attacker with TCP connectivity to the MOOSDB listening port can trigger the flaw against a default core-moos installation. Exploitation is limited in practice by the typical deployment of MOOSDB on private or vehicle-local networks not exposed to untrusted parties; if IP-level access to the MOOSDB port is already restricted to trusted hosts, exploitation requires the attacker to be on that trusted network segment.

Impact

The CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VA:H) accurately characterizes this vulnerability: network-accessible, zero preconditions, pre-authentication, with full availability impact. The exploit path is mechanically trivial - send a single crafted packet before the auth handshake completes, and the server attempts a potentially multi-gigabyte heap allocation. No EPSS score was supplied, no active exploitation has been reported, and no public PoC has been identified at time of analysis; absent KEV listing, real-world exploitation risk must be judged from deployment context rather than NVD severity alone. The principal limiting factor is deployment footprint: MOOSDB is niche research and autonomous-vehicle infrastructure typically bound to private LANs or vehicle-local networks, meaning internet-exposed instances are uncommon. That said, even a mid-sized research institution running gniezno-style distributed autonomous vehicle trials should treat this as an urgent patch given the zero-complexity exploit path and potential for operational disruption to mission-critical vehicles. Where MOOSDB is exposed on an accessible network segment without IP filtering, the risk is high.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker with TCP connectivity to the MOOSDB port sends a minimal wire-protocol packet in which the m_nMsgLen field is set to a value near the maximum signed integer (e.g., 2 GB or more). Before the server can challenge the client for authentication, OnBytesWritten() reads this field and passes it to InflateTo(), which calls new unsigned char[~2GB], rapidly exhausting heap memory. Repeating this across multiple connections in parallel causes the MOOSDB process to crash or become unresponsive, denying service to all legitimate clients including autonomous vehicle control software.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 0.4% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Sep 03, 2026

Uncontrolled memory allocation in MOOS core-moos through 10.4.0 exposes MOOSDB servers to pre-authentication denial of service. The CMOOSCommPkt::OnBytesWritten() function reads the packet length field directly from untrusted wire data and passes it without any upper-bound check to new unsigned char[], allowing unbounded heap allocation before any client authentication handshake occurs. An unauthenticated network attacker can craft packets with arbitrarily large declared lengths to exhaust server memory and crash the MOOSDB process; no public exploit has been identified at time of analysis, and an upstream patch is available via GitHub commit e7ea624.

RemediationAI

Apply the upstream fix by merging or cherry-picking GitHub PR #81 (https://github.com/themoos/core-moos/pull/81) or building directly from commit e7ea624a7b7828b47fcd35fc43feec1f5cfbbe21. No formally tagged patched release version has been independently confirmed - operators must build from the patched commit rather than waiting for a named release. The fix introduces a MOOS_PKT_MAX_LENGTH ceiling (256 MB by default, overridable at compile time before including MOOSCommPkt.h) in OnBytesWritten() and adds a std::bad_alloc handler in InflateTo() as defense-in-depth. As a compensating control where immediate patching is not feasible, restrict network access to the MOOSDB port to trusted IP ranges using host-based or perimeter firewall rules; this fully mitigates remote exploitation since the vulnerable code path is only reachable from the network, with the trade-off that legitimate remote MOOS clients outside the allowlist will also be blocked. Monitoring MOOSDB memory consumption for sudden spikes before authentication events can aid detection of exploitation attempts.

Affected VersionsENISA

core-moos 0 ≤10.4.0

Affected Packages

euvd core_moos no fix

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in euvd

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

MOOS (Mission Oriented Operating Suite) is a C++ publish-subscribe middleware used primarily in autonomous marine and unmanned vehicle systems. The vulnerable component, CMOOSCommPkt, handles wire-protocol packet deserialization for the MOOSDB database server. CWE-789 (Uncontrolled Memory Allocation) precisely describes the root cause: the m_nMsgLen field is parsed from an untrusted remote peer and forwarded directly as the size argument to new unsigned char[nNewStreamSize] inside InflateTo(), with no ceiling validation. The GitHub PR #81 diff confirms both the flaw and the fix: OnBytesWritten() now checks m_nMsgLen against a MOOS_PKT_MAX_LENGTH constant (default 256 MB, tunable at compile time) before proceeding to InflateTo(), and InflateTo() itself now wraps the allocation in a try/catch for std::bad_alloc so that a failed large allocation returns false rather than propagating an unhandled exception that terminates the process. The CPE cpe:2.3:a:themoos:core-moos:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* with a wildcard version range encompasses all releases through 10.4.0.

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Severity by source

Vendor (VulnCheck) PRIMARY 8.7 HIGH
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
vuln.today AI 7.5 HIGH

Pre-authentication network path, no complexity or privilege required, impacts only MOOSDB availability with no confidentiality or integrity effect.

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Primary rating from Vendor (VulnCheck).

CVSS VectorVendor: VulnCheck

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Attack Requirements
None
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Vulnerable system: Confidentiality
None
Vulnerable system: Integrity
None
Vulnerable system: Availability
High
Subsequent system: Confidentiality
None
Subsequent system: Integrity
None
Subsequent system: Availability
None

DescriptionCVE.org

MOOS core-moos through 10.4.0 fails to validate packet length declarations in CMOOSCommPkt::OnBytesWritten(), allowing unauthenticated attackers to trigger unbounded buffer allocation by sending crafted wire packets. Attackers can send packets with large declared lengths to exhaust server memory and cause denial of service before client authentication completes.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

MOOS core-moos database servers (version 10.4.0 and earlier) are vulnerable to pre-authentication denial of service through uncontrolled memory allocation. An unauthenticated network attacker can crash MOOSDB processes by sending crafted packets with oversized length fields, disrupting autonomous systems, robotics platforms, and marine operations that depend on MOOS infrastructure for real-time command and control.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch (GitHub commit e7ea624). Interim mitigation: restrict network access to MOOSDB ports via firewall rules limiting exposure to trusted systems only, and implement connection-rate limiting on exposed MOOS interfaces.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.4%
Top 66% exploitable
Prevalence
Rare
niche robotics and autonomous-vehicle middleware, minimal enterprise footprint
Data Quality
6 sources
Confidence: High

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.4%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
Yes
Human Impact
High
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

44
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +44
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

CVE-2026-85440 CRITICAL
9.3 Sep 03

Remote code execution risk in MOOS core-moos through 10.4.0 arises from a pre-authentication heap overflow in MOOSCommPk

CVE-2026-85428 CRITICAL
9.3 Sep 03

Unauthenticated variable write in MOOS core-moos through 10.4.0 lets any client that can reach the optional MOOSDB HTTP

CVE-2026-85424 CRITICAL
9.3 Sep 03

Unauthenticated full compromise of the MOOSDB message bus in MOOS core-moos through 10.4.0, where the wire protocol perf

CVE-2026-85455 HIGH
8.8 Sep 03

Unauthenticated buffer over-read in MOOS core-moos through 10.4.0 allows any attacker with TCP access to the MOOSDB port

CVE-2026-85432 HIGH
8.8 Sep 03

MOOSDB in core-moos through 10.4.0 accepts wire-supplied source identifiers verbatim instead of enforcing the authentica

CVE-2026-85441 HIGH
8.7 Sep 03

Unauthenticated denial-of-service in MOOS core-moos through 10.4.0 allows remote attackers to crash the central MOOSDB p

CVE-2026-85450 HIGH
8.7 Sep 03

Resource exhaustion in the MOOSDB HTTP server component of MOOS core-moos through 10.4.0 allows unauthenticated remote a

CVE-2026-85443 HIGH
8.7 Sep 03

Denial-of-service in MOOS core-moos through 10.4.0 allows any unauthenticated network peer to permanently freeze the MOO

CVE-2026-85451 HIGH
7.1 Sep 03

Remote process termination in MOOS core-moos through 10.4.0 allows any multicast-reachable attacker to forcibly shut dow

CVE-2026-85453 MEDIUM
5.3 Sep 03

Stored cross-site scripting in MOOS core-moos through 10.4.0 allows any MOOS publisher to inject script payloads into th

CVE-2026-85454 MEDIUM
5.2 Sep 03

Stack corruption with potential code execution in MOOS core-moos through version 10.4.0 arises from an off-by-one error

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