CVE-2026-73251
CRITICALDescription
Mongoose is an embedded web server and network library. Prior to 7.23, a network attacker can impersonate a TLS server to a Mongoose client configured with a multi-certificate CA bundle. In src/tls_builtin.c, the mg_tls_init() function stores the bundle in tls->ca_bundle_der while tls->ca_der.len remains zero, and mg_tls_recv_cert() uses tls_bundle_find() to accept a Common Name match without calling mg_tls_verify_cert_signature(). A forged self-signed certificate can therefore satisfy hostname and CertificateVerify checks and enable interception, credential disclosure, traffic modification, and malicious responses. This issue is fixed in version 7.23.
How to fix
TridentStack Control can deploy fixes like this automatically across your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet. See how it works
Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.
CVSS v4 Vector
Exploitability
Impact
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/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:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
Exploit Intelligence
Low risk: more likely to be exploited than 9% of all known CVEs.
References
Related Vulnerabilities
Other CWE-295 (Improper Certificate Validation) vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all
| CVE | Severity | CVSS | EPSS | Exploited | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2015-4000 | Low | 3.7 | 100% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2020-0601 | High | 8.1 | 89% | KEV | Fix |
| CVE-2009-3555 | Critical | 9.8 | 87% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2022-26923 | High | 8.8 | 84% | KEV | Fix |
| CVE-2023-27823 | Critical | 9.8 | 53% | - | - |
| CVE-2022-42979 | High | 8.8 | 24% | - | - |
Common questions
How do I fix CVE-2026-73251?
Upgrade mongoose on debian unstable to 7.23+ds-1 or later.
Is CVE-2026-73251 being actively exploited?
Not that we know of. CVE-2026-73251 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 0.19% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 9% of all scored CVEs.
How severe is CVE-2026-73251?
CVE-2026-73251 has a CVSS v4 base score of 9.3, rated critical. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.
What does CVE-2026-73251 affect?
Published advisories record a fix for mongoose (Debian). Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.
Embed a live status badge for CVE-2026-73251
Markdown
[](https://tridentstack.com/cve/CVE-2026-73251)HTML
<a href="https://tridentstack.com/cve/CVE-2026-73251"><img src="https://tridentstack.com/cve/badge/CVE-2026-73251.svg" alt="CVE-2026-73251"></a>Find and fix vulnerabilities across your fleet
TridentStack Control continuously scans your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet for known vulnerabilities, prioritizes them by severity and active exploitation, and patches them automatically.
This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2026-08-20.