CVE-2026-26076Network attack vector

Service degradation via unbounded NTS cookie generation

Published Feb 12, 2026 · Updated Feb 12, 2026

Resource exhaustion in Project Pendulum ntpd-rs before 1.7.1 allows remote attackers to degrade service through malformed NTS packets. The nts_timestamp_response path iterates over attacker-supplied cookie placeholders and generates a response cookie for each without limiting the count. Exploitation requires an NTS-enabled time server and raises CPU use roughly two to four times above normal, reducing capacity without a reported crash.

CVSS severity6.9
Medium
EPSS probability0.36%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Resource exhaustion in Project Pendulum ntpd-rs before 1.7.1 allows remote attackers to degrade service through malformed NTS packets. The nts_timestamp_response path iterates over attacker-supplied cookie placeholders and generates a response cookie for each without limiting the count. Exploitation requires an NTS-enabled time server and raises CPU use roughly two to four times above normal, reducing capacity without a reported crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-26076
Published
Feb 12, 2026
Updated
Feb 12, 2026
Vendor
Project Pendulum
Product
ntpd-rs
Classifications
CWE-770, T1499.003
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 12, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Feb 12, 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=< 1.7.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Project Pendulum · ntpd-rsversion=< 1.7.1

Published CVSS scores

6.9GitHub, Inc.CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
7.5NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-770Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling
T1499.003Application Exhaustion Flood

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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