Vulnerability Description
WARNING: Users of 6.x should upgrade to 6.2.4 or later as the fix was missed in previous 6.x releases. See the following for more details: https://activemq.apache.org/security-advisories.data/CVE-2026-40046-announcement.txt https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-40046 Original Report: Apache ActiveMQ does not properly validate the remaining length field which may lead to an overflow during the decoding of malformed packets. When this integer overflow occurs, ActiveMQ may incorrectly compute the total Remaining Length and subsequently misinterpret the payload as multiple MQTT control packets which makes the broker susceptible to unexpected behavior when interacting with non-compliant clients. This behavior violates the MQTT v3.1.1 specification, which restricts Remaining Length to a maximum of 4 bytes. The scenario occurs on established connections after the authentication process. Brokers that are not enabling mqtt transport connectors are not impacted. This issue affects Apache ActiveMQ: before 5.19.2, 6.0.0 to 6.1.8, and 6.2.0 Users are recommended to upgrade to version 5.19.2, 6.1.9, or 6.2.1, which fixes the issue.
CVSS Score
MEDIUM
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Apache | Activemq | < 5.19.2 |
Related Weaknesses (CWE)
References
- https://activemq.apache.org/security-advisories.data/CVE-2026-40046-announcement
- https://lists.apache.org/thread/13n8mkrb2jf2y6yyhpgrkmpqcm7djytoMailing ListVendor Advisory
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-40046
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/03/03/5Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
FAQ
What is CVE-2025-66168?
CVE-2025-66168 is a vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.4 (MEDIUM). WARNING: Users of 6.x should upgrade to 6.2.4 or later as the fix was missed in previous 6.x releases. See the following for more details: https://activemq.apache.org/security-advisories.data/CVE-...
How severe is CVE-2025-66168?
CVE-2025-66168 has been rated MEDIUM with a CVSS base score of 5.4/10. Review the CVSS metrics above for detailed severity breakdown.
Is there a patch for CVE-2025-66168?
Check the references section above for vendor advisories and patch information. Affected products include: Apache Activemq.