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RabbitMQ EUVDEUVD-2026-85627

| CVE-2026-66079 HIGH
Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling (CWE-770)
2026-09-23 security-advisories@github.com
8.2
CVSS 4.0 · Vendor: github
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Attack ChainAIDerived

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

  1. Access
    Reach AMQP 1.0 listener on port 5672
  2. Delivery
    Craft ~19-byte SASL frame with list0 Count=0xFFFFFFFF
  3. Exploit
    Frame parsed pre-auth by amqp10_framing:decode_bin
  4. Execution
    Reader builds ~4B empty elements, heap exhausted
  5. Impact
    Erlang VM crashes, all tenants lose service

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2025 - Insecure Design
ASVS 5.0
V2 - Validation and Business Logic Resource allocation limits
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Impact

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Exploitation Conditions

Requires network reachability to the AMQP 1.0 listener on TCP port 5672, which is enabled by default in affected RabbitMQ 4.x deployments. No authentication and no user interaction are needed - the malicious SASL-mechanisms/SASL-init frame is parsed by amqp10_framing:decode_bin/1 (rabbit_amqp_reader.erl:412) BEFORE authentication completes. The only limiting factors are: (1) the AMQP 1.0 listener/plugin must be active (default-on), and (2) network path to port 5672 must exist - so nodes firewalled to trusted clients only, or with AMQP 1.0 disabled, are not exposed. No max_heap_size on the reader process is what allows the unbounded allocation; the pre-auth incoming_max_frame_size (default 8192) caps frame size but NOT the 32-bit Count field.

Impact

This is a genuine, high-priority pre-authentication denial-of-service in a widely deployed message broker. The CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N) confirms a remote, unauthenticated, low-complexity attack with a single ~19-byte frame, and the impact is availability-only (VA:H; VC:N/VI:N - no confidentiality or integrity loss, consistent with CWE-770 resource exhaustion). The vendor-assigned base score of 8.2 is driven entirely by the total availability loss (Erlang VM crash taking down all tenants and protocols on the node). No EPSS score, CISA KEV listing, or public POC was provided in the intelligence, so this is 'no public exploit identified at time of analysis' - but the description contains a precise, near-weaponizable technical walkthrough (constructor 0x45 list0 with B=0, array32 Count=0xFFFFFFFF), meaning exploit development is trivial for any capable attacker and the barrier is very low. The only conflicting/soft signal is the vendor's AT:P (attack-requirement present), which likely reflects that the AMQP 1.0 listener must be enabled; in RabbitMQ 4.x this listener is enabled by default on port 5672, so the practical requirement is minimal. Bottom line: real priority for any internet- or broadly-network-reachable RabbitMQ node, not a high-CVSS-but-low-real-risk case.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An unauthenticated attacker with network reachability to TCP 5672 sends a single crafted ~19-byte AMQP 1.0 SASL frame containing a list0 (0x45) element inside an array32 with Count=0xFFFFFFFF. The reader process, parsing before authentication, attempts to build ~4 billion empty list elements with no max_heap_size cap, exhausting heap and terminating the Erlang VM. No public POC is referenced, but the advisory's root-cause detail makes reproduction straightforward.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 0.3% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Sep 23, 2026

Unauthenticated remote attackers can crash any RabbitMQ node with the AMQP 1.0 listener enabled by sending a single ~19-byte frame to TCP port 5672, causing the Erlang VM to exhaust heap memory and terminate, which takes down all tenants and protocols on that node. The flaw is an unbounded-allocation bug (CWE-770) in the AMQP 1.0 framing code that is reached before authentication completes, so no credentials or user interaction are required; only network reachability to the broker's AMQP 1.0 port is needed. Affected releases are RabbitMQ prior to 3.13.15, 4.0.20, 4.1.11, and 4.2.6, which contain the vendor-released fix; no public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis, and the issue is scored high severity (CVSS 8.2 v4.0 / assessed CVSS 3.1 7.5) with availability-only impact.

RemediationAI

Upgrade to a fixed release - RabbitMQ 3.13.15, 4.0.20, 4.1.11, or 4.2.6 or later on the corresponding maintenance line (vendor-released patch: 3.13.15, 4.0.20, 4.1.11, 4.2.6), as documented in the advisory at https://github.com/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-server/security/advisories/GHSA-c66h-hf5j-8jf9 and the release notes at https://github.com/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-server/releases/tag/v4.2.6. If an immediate upgrade is not possible, the most effective compensating control is to stop exposing the AMQP 1.0 listener: disable the AMQP 1.0 plugin on nodes that do not require it, or reconfigure/stop the AMQP 1.0 listener - the trade-off is that any AMQP 1.0 clients lose connectivity. Alternatively, restrict network access to TCP port 5672 to trusted clients only via firewall/security-group rules or network segmentation, which preserves AMQP 1.0 functionality but requires an accurate client allowlist and leaves the queue port open to any host on that allowlist. Note that lowering incoming_max_frame_size is not a reliable mitigation because it bounds total frame length, not the 32-bit Count field that drives the allocation, and no reader-process heap cap is set by default. Monitor broker nodes for abrupt restarts and for repeated pre-auth SASL frame anomalies, and prioritize patching internet-facing or multi-tenant clusters first.

Affected VersionsENISA

rabbitmq-server 4.0.0, < 4.0.20
rabbitmq-server 4.2.0, < 4.2.6
rabbitmq-server 3.13.0, < 3.13.15
rabbitmq-server 4.1.0, < 4.1.11

Affected Packages

euvd rabbitmq_server_3_13_0 fix: 3.13.15
euvd rabbitmq_server_4_0_0 fix: 4.0.20
euvd rabbitmq_server_4_1_0 fix: 4.1.11
euvd rabbitmq_server_4_2_0 fix: 4.2.6

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 4 packages in euvd

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

Technical ContextAI · show details

RabbitMQ is an Erlang/OTP-based messaging and streaming broker that exposes multiple protocol listeners, including an AMQP 1.0 listener on port 5672 that is enabled by default in affected 4.x deployments. The vulnerability resides in the AMQP 1.0 framing/decoding path: parse_array_primitive/2 handles the list0 type constructor (0x45) and returns an element with byte-width B = 0, and the enclosing array32 parser (line 148) reads a 4-byte Count field from the wire and then loops Count times consuming B bytes per iteration. Because B = 0, no input is consumed, so the loop eagerly constructs a list of Count empty elements bounded solely by the 32-bit Count field. The pre-authentication frame is parsed by amqp10_framing:decode_bin/1 invoked from rabbit_amqp_reader.erl:412 while handling the SASL-mechanisms / SASL-init exchange, i.e. before authentication completes. The incoming_max_frame_size setting (default 8192 bytes) limits the total frame length but not the Count value, so a 19-byte payload declaring Count = 0xFFFFFFFF is accepted, and because no max_heap_size is configured for the reader process, the unbounded list allocation exhausts the Erlang VM heap and terminates the node. The root cause class is CWE-770 (Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling), i.e. a missing resource-exhaustion guard on an attacker-controlled length field.

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Severity by source

Vendor (github) PRIMARY 8.2 HIGH
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
vuln.today AI 7.5 HIGH

Remote, unauthenticated, single-frame trigger against a default-enabled listener gives AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N; impact is total node crash so A:H with C:N/I:N and no scope change.

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
SUSE 7.5 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Red Hat 7.5 HIGH

Primary rating from Vendor (github).

CVSS VectorVendor: github

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Attack Requirements
Present
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

Lifecycle Timeline

2
Patch available
Sep 23, 2026 - 21:17 EUVD
CVE Published
Sep 23, 2026 - 20:17 cve.org
HIGH 8.2

DescriptionCVE.org

RabbitMQ is a messaging and streaming broker. Prior to versions 3.13.15, 4.0.20, 4.1.11, and 4.2.6, parse_array_primitive/2 for constructor 0x45 (list0) returns an element with byte-width B = 0. The enclosing array32 parser at line 148 reads a 4-byte Count from the wire and loops Count times consuming B bytes each , with B = 0, no input is consumed and the loop builds a list of Count empty elements bounded only by the 32-bit field. The SASL-mechanisms / SASL-init frame is parsed by amqp10_framing:decode_bin/1 from rabbit_amqp_reader.erl:412 before authentication completes. The pre-auth incoming_max_frame_size (default 8192 bytes) caps the frame, not the Count field, so a 19-byte payload with Count = 0xFFFFFFFF is accepted. No max_heap_size is set on the reader process. An unauthenticated network attacker can crash any RabbitMQ node that has the AMQP 1.0 listener enabled (default port 5672) by sending a single ~19-byte frame. The reader process attempts to build a list of ~4 billion empty elements, exhausting heap memory and terminating the Erlang VM. All tenants and protocols on the node lose service. Preconditions include Network reachability to the AMQP listener (port 5672, enabled by default) No authentication required. This issue is fixed in versions 3.13.15, 4.0.20, 4.1.11, and 4.2.6.

Technical POC Analysis

CWE-770 (Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling) in the AMQP 1.0 binary framing parser.

Full technical POC analysis - root cause, step-by-step exploitation and patch breakdown - is part of the Pro and Business plans.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

CVE-2026-66079 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.2) availability flaw in RabbitMQ in which a single ~19-byte frame sent to a node's AMQP 1.0 listener causes the Erlang VM to exhaust heap memory and terminate, taking down every tenant, queue, and protocol hosted on that node. Any team running an affected RabbitMQ release prior to 3.13.15, 4.0.20, 4.1.11, or 4.2.6 with the AMQP 1.0 listener reachable from untrusted networks faces unplanned messaging outages and cascading failures in the applications that depend on the broker. Leadership should treat this as a service-continuity and SLA risk rather than a data-breach risk, since the advisory describes availability-only impact and no public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

No vendor-released patch is confirmed as available at time of analysis, so interim mitigations are required: disable the AMQP 1.0 listener (rabbitmq_amqp1_0 plugin) on any node that does not require it; where it is required, restrict inbound TCP 5672/5671 to trusted networks only and never expose the broker directly to the internet; front clusters with TCP-aware load balancers or proxies that perform health checks and remove or restart unresponsive nodes; operate RabbitMQ in clusters with quorum queues so remaining nodes can absorb traffic while an affected node recovers; apply Erlang VM memory and process limits and configure supervised restarts to shorten outage windows; and monitor for memory exhaustion, OOM kills, and abnormal restart frequency as an early indicator of attack or instability. Where the vendor fixed builds (3.13.15, 4.0.20, 4.1.11, 4.2.6) are confirmed available and validated, apply them as the definitive remediation.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.3%
Top 78% exploitable
Prevalence
High
widely deployed enterprise messaging/streaming broker across many production stacks
Data Quality
5 sources
Confidence: Medium

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 0.3%
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· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
Yes
Human Impact
High

Priority Score

41
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +41
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.

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CVE-2026-63335 MEDIUM POC
6.3 Aug 18

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CVE-2016-9877 CRITICAL
9.8 Dec 29

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CVE-2026-77405 CRITICAL
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RabbitMQ's amqp091-go Go client library, in all versions before 1.13.0, builds TLS configuration from amqps:// URIs with

CVE-2021-32718 MEDIUM POC
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CVE-2026-67404 CRITICAL
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CVE-2026-77408 CRITICAL
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CVE-2026-63336 MEDIUM POC
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CVE-2026-77412 HIGH
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Denial of service in the official RabbitMQ Go client library amqp091-go (versions prior to 1.13.0): a malicious, comprom

Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Important
Product Status
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Server Applications 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Server Applications 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.0 Affected

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