Service interruption via unbounded mimetex execution
Published Feb 21, 2026 · Updated Feb 21, 2026
Resource exhaustion in Moodle LMS 5.1.1 and earlier allows remote authenticated users to interrupt service via crafted TeX formulas. The TeX filter passes formula input to the mimetex process without an execution deadline, allowing a crafted expression to keep consuming server resources until it finishes. Exploitation requires an authenticated account and the mimetex renderer; repeated slow renders can degrade performance or interrupt the application.
Summary
What happened
Resource exhaustion in Moodle LMS 5.1.1 and earlier allows remote authenticated users to interrupt service via crafted TeX formulas. The TeX filter passes formula input to the mimetex process without an execution deadline, allowing a crafted expression to keep consuming server resources until it finishes. Exploitation requires an authenticated account and the mimetex renderer; repeated slow renders can degrade performance or interrupt the application.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-26047
- Published
- Feb 21, 2026
- Updated
- Feb 21, 2026
- Vendor
- Moodle
- Product
- Moodle LMS
- Classifications
- CWE-400, CWE-770, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Feb 21, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Feb 21, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0 <4.5.9
- Affected versionversion=5.0.0 <5.0.5
- Affected versionversion=5.1.0 <5.1.2
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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