CVE-2026-78131Network attack vector

Remote service interruption via attribute-certificate memory leaks

Published Sep 11, 2026 · Updated Sep 11, 2026

Memory leaks in strongSwan 4.2.0 through 6.0.7 allow remote attackers to exhaust daemon memory via crafted IKEv2 CERT payloads. The parser overwrites a prior AuthorityKeyIdentifier without freeing it; in 5.1.3 and later, parse_directoryName() also abandons GeneralName entries after the second. The x509 plugin is built and loaded by default, and enough malicious attribute certificates cause progressive memory exhaustion and service interruption.

CVSS severity3.7
Low
EPSS probability0.23%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Memory leaks in strongSwan 4.2.0 through 6.0.7 allow remote attackers to exhaust daemon memory via crafted IKEv2 CERT payloads. The parser overwrites a prior AuthorityKeyIdentifier without freeing it; in 5.1.3 and later, parse_directoryName() also abandons GeneralName entries after the second. The x509 plugin is built and loaded by default, and enough malicious attribute certificates cause progressive memory exhaustion and service interruption.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-78131
Published
Sep 11, 2026
Updated
Sep 11, 2026
Vendor
strongSwan
Product
strongSwan
Classifications
CWE-401, T1499.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 11, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 11, 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=4.2.0 <6.1.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

strongSwan · strongSwanversion=4.2.0 <6.1.0

Published CVSS scores

3.7MITRECVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

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-401Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

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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