CVE-2024-45038 Device crash via malformed MQTT packet when downlink is enabled in Meshtastic device firmware
Attackers can crash Meshtastic devices by sending malformed MQTT packets when downlink is enabled, requiring a firmware update.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2024-45038?
CVE-2024-45038 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in meshtastic firmware, published on 27 Aug 2024. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
Meshtastic device firmware is a firmware for meshtastic devices to run an open source, off-grid, decentralized, mesh network built to run on affordable, low-power devices. Meshtastic device firmware is subject to a denial of serivce vulnerability in MQTT handling, fixed in version 2.4.1 of the Meshtastic firmware and on the Meshtastic public MQTT Broker. It's strongly suggested that all users of Meshtastic, particularly those that connect to a privately hosted MQTT server, update to this or a more recent stable version right away. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.
Weakness: CWE-755
Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-45038?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Meshtastic Meshtastic Firmware.
How do I fix CVE-2024-45038?
No fix has been published for CVE-2024-45038 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.
Is CVE-2024-45038 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-45038 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in meshtastic firmware
- CVE-2025-52464 Meshtastic Repeated Public and Private Keypairs
- CVE-2025-55293 Meshtastic allows crafting of specific NodeInfo packets that overwrite any publicKey saved in the NodeDB
- CVE-2025-24797 Meshtastic incorrectly hands malformed packets leads to controlled buffer overflow
- CVE-2025-55292 In Meshtastic, an attacker can spoof licensed amateur flag for a node
- CVE-2024-47078 Meshtastic firmware Authentication/Authorization Bypass via MQTT
Sources
Also known as GHSA-3x3r-vw9f-pxq5.