CVE-2026-85436 in essential-moos
Summary
by MITRE • 09/04/2026
MOOS essential-moos through 10.0.1 contains a buffer overflow vulnerability in CMOOSUDPLink::ReadPktFromArray() that allows remote attackers to corrupt heap memory by sending UDP datagrams with negative declared lengths. Attackers can send crafted UDP packets to the configured UDPListen port to trigger an oversized memcpy operation that writes past the destination buffer, causing heap corruption and denial of service.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/04/2026
The vulnerability identified in MOOS essential-moos versions through 10.0.1 represents a critical memory safety flaw located within the CMOOSUDPLink::ReadPktFromArray() function. This component is responsible for processing incoming User Datagram Protocol packets, which are fundamental to the communication architecture of the MOOS autonomous marine systems software suite. The core technical deficiency lies in the inadequate validation of packet length fields before performing memory copy operations. Specifically, when a remote attacker transmits UDP datagrams containing negative declared lengths, the application fails to properly interpret or sanitize this integer value. In many programming contexts involving signed integers, a negative number can be misinterpreted as an extremely large unsigned integer due to two's complement representation rules. This type conversion error leads the system to allocate insufficient buffer space while attempting to process data that it believes is vastly larger than reality, setting the stage for severe memory corruption.
The operational mechanism of this exploit involves sending crafted UDP packets directly to the configured UDPListen port associated with the MOOS node. Upon receipt, the ReadPktFromArray() function proceeds to execute an oversized memcpy operation based on the malformed length parameter. Because the destination buffer is allocated according to normal expectations or fixed sizes that are significantly smaller than the misinterpreted negative value treated as a large positive offset, the memory copy routine writes data beyond the boundaries of the allocated heap segment. This results in immediate heap corruption, overwriting adjacent memory structures such as metadata used by the allocator for managing free and busy chunks. The integrity of the application's runtime environment is thus compromised, leading to unpredictable behavior ranging from silent data corruption to explicit system crashes.
The primary impact of this vulnerability is a denial of service condition affecting the stability and availability of MOOS-based autonomous systems. Since heap corruption can corrupt critical control structures or trigger segmentation faults upon subsequent memory access attempts, an attacker can reliably crash the application without requiring authentication or prior interaction with other components. In the context of marine robotics and unmanned surface vehicles where MOOS is frequently deployed, such a denial of service could result in loss of vehicle control, mission failure, or safety hazards if the system relies on continuous operation for navigation and obstacle avoidance. While direct code execution via heap exploitation techniques like heap spraying or structure overwriting is theoretically possible given the nature of the flaw, the immediate and most certain outcome remains the disruption of service through application termination.
From a classification perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-120 Buffer Overflow without bounds checking in C/C++ applications, specifically manifesting as a classic case where input validation fails to prevent out-of-bounds writes. The attack vector is categorized under CWE-20 Improper Input Validation, as the system accepts untrusted data from network sources and processes it without sufficient checks on value ranges or types. In terms of tactical mapping within the MITRE ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability facilitates Initial Access through Network Service Exploitation (T1190) if an attacker seeks to gain a foothold, but more immediately supports Impact via Denial of Service against Application Services (TA0040). The remote nature of the attack allows for exploitation over local or wide area networks depending on network exposure and firewall rules governing UDP traffic.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate patching to version 10.0.2 or later where this integer handling flaw has been corrected with proper bounds checking and type safety measures. Developers must ensure that all length fields derived from external inputs are validated against maximum allowable buffer sizes before any memory allocation or copy operation is initiated. For organizations unable to immediately upgrade, network-level controls such as ingress filtering on the specific UDP ports used by MOOS nodes can help restrict access to trusted sources only. Additionally, deploying intrusion detection systems capable of identifying anomalous packet structures with negative length fields may provide an additional layer of defense against exploitation attempts in production environments where full patching is delayed due to operational constraints.