CVE-2026-33223 NATS Server: Incomplete Stripping of Nats-Request-Info Header Allows Identity Spoofing
Attackers with valid credentials can spoof their identity by exploiting incomplete header stripping, bypassing identity guarantees in NATS Server.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-33223?
CVE-2026-33223 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in nats-io nats-server, published on 25 Mar 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
NATS-Server is a High-Performance server for NATS.io, a cloud and edge native messaging system. Prior to versions 2.11.15 and 2.12.6, the NATS message header `Nats-Request-Info:` is supposed to be a guarantee of identity by the NATS server, but the stripping of this header from inbound messages was not fully effective. An attacker with valid credentials for any regular client interface could thus spoof their identity to services which rely upon this header. Versions 2.11.15 and 2.12.6 contain a fix. No known workarounds are available.
Weakness: CWE-290
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-33223?
9 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/nats-io/nats-server/v2, nats and github.com/nats-io/nats-server. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
github.com/nats-io/nats-server/v2 Go | All versions | 2.11.15, 2.12.6 |
github.com/nats-io/nats-server/v2 Go | All versions | 2.11.15 |
github.com/nats-io/nats-server/v2 Go | All versions | 2.11.15 |
github.com/nats-io/nats-server/v2 Go | From 2.12.0-RC.1 | 2.12.6 |
github.com/nats-io/nats-server/v2 Go | From 2.12.0-RC.1 | 2.12.6 |
nats Bitnami | All versions | 2.11.15, 2.12.6 |
3 more packages
github.com/nats-io/nats-server Go | All versions | None |
github.com/nats-io/nats-server Go | All versions | None |
github.com/nats-io/nats-server Go | All versions | None |
Products include Linuxfoundation Nats-Server.
How do I fix CVE-2026-33223?
Upgrade github.com/nats-io/nats-server/v2 to a fixed version for your release line: 2.11.15 or 2.12.6.
Upgrade, and rotate credentials and sessions that may have been exposed. More about Authentication bypass.
Is CVE-2026-33223 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-33223 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in nats-io nats-server
- CVE-2022-28357 NATS nats-server allows directory traversal via unintended path to a management action
- CVE-2026-58253 NATS Server: Route API Auth Bypass
- CVE-2022-24450 Incorrect Authorization in NATS nats-server
- CVE-2026-33216 NATS has MQTT plaintext password disclosure
- CVE-2026-58207 NATS Server: Remote crash via integer overflow in Connz pagination
Sources
Also known as BIT-nats-2026-33223, CLEANSTART-2026-OV69039, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-33223, ECHO-cc28-ca6d-d8db, GHSA-pwx7-fx9r-hr4h, GO-2026-4835 and 10 more.