Where
-Infinity
0
Severity
9.2
AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Contiki-NG's MQTT client parsepublishvhdr() in os/net/app-layer/mqtt/mqtt.c sets topiclenreceived=1 before checking topiclen against the 64-byte limit, so an over-length topic returns early but leaves the flag set. On the next TCP segment, tcpinput() re-invokes the parser with topicreceived==0, and the persisted topiclenreceived==1 skips the length-reading block containing the guard, falling through directly to a memcpy() that uses the unvalidated 16-bit topiclen as the copy length. The 65-byte topic[] destination overruns into adjacent struct fields including the payloadchunk pointer, which subsequent MQTT code dereferences, giving a compromised or attacker-controlled broker an arbitrary-pointer-write primitive. Contiki-NG's MQTT implementation has no TLS support so the connection is plaintext. Impact ranges from information disclosure and denial of service to remote code execution on embedded targets without memory protection.

First published (updated )

Contact

SecAlerts Pty Ltd.
132 Wickham Terrace
Fortitude Valley,
QLD 4006, Australia
info@secalerts.co
By using SecAlerts services, you agree to our services end-user license agreement. This website is safeguarded by reCAPTCHA and governed by the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. All names, logos, and brands of products are owned by their respective owners, and any usage of these names, logos, and brands for identification purposes only does not imply endorsement. If you possess any content that requires removal, please get in touch with us.
© 2026 SecAlerts Pty Ltd.
ABN: 70 645 966 203, ACN: 645 966 203