Nmap versions up to and including 7.99 contains a denial of service vulnerability that allows remote attackers to crash the application by sending a crafted packet containing a zero-length TCP option. The malformed packet forces the Packet:parse_options() function in nselib/packet.lua to allocate objects in an infinite loop, causing an out-of-memory condition that results in application crash.
History

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

threat_severity

Moderate


Fri, 14 Aug 2026 17:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
CPEs cpe:2.3:a:nmap:nmap:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 15:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'poc', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Thu, 13 Aug 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Nmap
Nmap nmap
Vendors & Products Nmap
Nmap nmap

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 18:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description Nmap versions up to and including 7.99 contains a denial of service vulnerability that allows remote attackers to crash the application by sending a crafted packet containing a zero-length TCP option. The malformed packet forces the Packet:parse_options() function in nselib/packet.lua to allocate objects in an infinite loop, causing an out-of-memory condition that results in application crash.
Title Nmap 7.99 Denial of Service via Zero-Length TCP Option Packet
Weaknesses CWE-835
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 6.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

cvssV4_0

{'score': 6.9, 'vector': 'CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N'}


cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: VulnCheck

Published: 2026-08-11T17:35:06.192Z

Updated: 2026-08-14T16:51:55.660Z

Reserved: 2026-08-10T13:02:52.001Z

Link: CVE-2026-72712

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-08-13T14:12:40.943Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-08-11T18:18:23.550

Modified: 2026-08-13T15:20:03.700

Link: CVE-2026-72712

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Moderate

Publid Date: 2026-08-11T17:35:06Z

Links: CVE-2026-72712 - Bugzilla