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.
Metrics
Affected Vendors & Products
References
History
Wed, 04 Mar 2026 10:30:00 +0000
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Wed, 04 Mar 2026 09:15:00 +0000
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| Description | 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. | |
| Title | Apache ActiveMQ, Apache ActiveMQ All Module, Apache ActiveMQ MQTT Module: MQTT control packet remaining length field is not properly validated | |
| Weaknesses | CWE-190 | |
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cvssV3_1
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Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: apache
Published:
Updated: 2026-03-04T09:15:41.385Z
Reserved: 2025-11-21T20:44:42.659Z
Link: CVE-2025-66168
No data.
Status : Received
Published: 2026-03-04T09:15:54.757
Modified: 2026-03-04T10:16:07.797
Link: CVE-2025-66168
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.