CVE-2026-102464: vert.x DoS — Fix

Description

In Eclipse Vert.x versions [4.0.0, 4.5.34] or [5.0.0,5.0.12] or [5.1.0,5.1.9] or [5.2.0, 5.2.0], the Eclipse Vert.x MQTT (vertx-mqtt) MqttClient stores every inbound QoS 2 PUBLISH message received from the broker in an internal map (qos2inbound) while awaiting the corresponding PUBREL packet to complete the QoS 2 handshake. This map has no size limit; the maxInflightQueue option is enforced only on the outbound publish path and does not constrain inbound message retention. A malicious or compromised MQTT broker can exploit this by sending QoS 2 PUBLISH messages with distinct packet identifiers and withholding the PUBREL responses. Each incomplete handshake causes the client to retain the full publish message (topic, payload, and metadata) indefinitely, leading to unbounded memory growth in the Vert.x process. This can degrade the MQTT-consuming application or cause out-of-memory termination. The impacted component is io.vertx:vertx-mqtt.

Is your site exposed to CVE-2026-102464?

Run a free security scan — no signup, results in seconds.

CVSS v3.1 Score

5.9

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0031

Probability of exploitation

0.24%

Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-770 CWE-770

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
eclipse	vert.x	4.5.0 — 4.5.35
eclipse	vert.x	5.0.0 — 5.1.10
eclipse	vert.x	All

References

Advisories & Patches

https://github.com/vert-x3/vertx-mqtt/security/advisories/GHSA-46xj-5735-6qrp

Other References

https://gitlab.eclipse.org/security/cve-assignment/-/work_items/344

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-102464? +

In Eclipse Vert.x versions [4.0.0, 4.5.34] or [5.0.0,5.0.12] or [5.1.0,5.1.9] or [5.2.0, 5.2.0], the Eclipse Vert.x MQTT (vertx-mqtt) MqttClient stores every inbound QoS 2 PUBLISH message received from the broker in an internal map (qos2inbound) while awaiting the corresponding PUBREL packet to complete the QoS 2 handshake. This map has no size limit; the maxInflightQueue option is enforced only on the outbound publish path and does not constrain inbound message retention. A malicious or compromised MQTT broker can exploit this by sending QoS 2 PUBLISH messages with distinct packet identifiers and withholding the PUBREL responses. Each incomplete handshake causes the client to retain the full publish message (topic, payload, and metadata) indefinitely, leading to unbounded memory growth in the Vert.x process. This can degrade the MQTT-consuming application or cause out-of-memory termination. The impacted component is io.vertx:vertx-mqtt. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.9 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2026-102464? +

CVE-2026-102464 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.9 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance. The EPSS score is 0.0031, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.

What products are affected by CVE-2026-102464? +

CVE-2026-102464 affects products from eclipse, specifically: vert.x. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-102464? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

Related Vulnerabilities

CVE-2026-39313

mcp-framework is a framework for building Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. In versions 0.2.21 and below, the readRequestBody() function in …

CVE-2026-35469

spdystream is a Go library for multiplexing streams over SPDY connections. In versions 0.5.0 and below, the SPDY/3 frame parser …

CVE-2026-75956

Joomla Extension - cmsjunkie.com - DOS vector in pagination parameter handling in J-BusinessDirectory < 6.2.3 - Pagination values were not …

CVE-2026-39803

Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling vulnerability in mtrudel bandit allows unauthenticated remote denial of service via memory exhaustion. …

CVE-2026-39804

Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling vulnerability in mtrudel bandit allows unauthenticated remote denial of service via memory exhaustion …

CVE-2026-104817

Misskey is an open source, federated social media platform. From 12.112.1 until 2026.7.0, the unauthenticated fetch-rss API lacks rate limiting …