How severe is CVE-2026-73253?

CVE-2026-73253 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.1, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability none.

Is CVE-2026-73253 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (26th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2026-73253?

CVE-2026-73253 affects Cesanta Mongoose. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2026-73253?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2026-73253 published?

CVE-2026-73253 was published on 2026-08-20 and last updated on 2026-09-29.

CVE-2026-73253

CVE-2026-73253 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Cesanta Mongoose with a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.1. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-295.

Key facts

Severity: Critical (CVSS 3.x base score 9.1)
CVSS v4: 9.1
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (26th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-295
Affected product: Cesanta Mongoose
Published: 2026-08-20
Last modified: 2026-09-29

Description

Mongoose is an embedded web server and network library. Prior to version 7.22, an on-path network attacker with a wildcard certificate for a parent domain can impersonate deeper subdomains to a client using the built-in TLS stack. The mg_tls_verify_cert_san() and mg_tls_verify_cert_cn() functions in src/tls_builtin.c call mg_match(), whose wildcard can cross DNS label boundaries, so a pattern such as *.example.com can match foo.bar.example.com. The resulting hostname verification bypass permits interception and modification of TLS traffic. This issue is fixed in version 7.22.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-73253?: Mongoose is an embedded web server and network library. Prior to version 7.22, an on-path network attacker with a wildcard certificate for a parent domain can impersonate deeper subdomains to a client using the built-in TLS stack. The mg_tls_verify_cert_san() and mg_tls_verify_cert_cn() functions in src/tls_builtin.c call mg_match(), whose wildcard can cross DNS label boundaries, so a pattern such as *.example.com can match foo.bar.example.com. The resulting hostname verification bypass permits interception and modification of TLS traffic. This issue is fixed in version 7.22.
How severe is CVE-2026-73253?: CVE-2026-73253 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.1, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability none.
Is CVE-2026-73253 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (26th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2026-73253?: CVE-2026-73253 affects Cesanta Mongoose. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2026-73253?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2026-73253 published?: CVE-2026-73253 was published on 2026-08-20 and last updated on 2026-09-29.

References

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:cesanta:mongoose:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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CVE-2018-20355 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): An invalid write of 8 bytes due to a use-after-free vulnerability in the mg_http_free_proto_data_cgi function call in…

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