CVE-2026-23962

Mastodon vulnerable to Denial of Service from a single post (client/server)

HIGH
7.5
CVSS Score
Published: January 22, 2026 at 01:51 AM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 10:22 AM UTC
2 products affected across 2 vendorsMastodonMastodon

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Severity
HIGH7.5
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.5%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

Mastodon is a free, open-source social network server based on ActivityPub. Mastodon versions before v4.3.18, v4.4.12, and v4.5.5 do not have a limit on the maximum number of poll options for remote posts, allowing attackers to create polls with a very large amount of options, greatly increasing resource consumption. Depending on the number of poll options, an attacker can cause disproportionate resource usage in both Mastodon servers and clients, potentially causing Denial of Service either server-side or client-side. Mastodon versions v4.5.5, v4.4.12, v4.3.18 are patched.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

v < 4.3.184.4.0 ≤ v < 4.4.124.5.0 ≤ v < 4.5.5
v < 4.3.18v < 4.4.12v < 4.5.5
Affected range stops below 4.3.18, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 4.4.12, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 4.5.5, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

References (4)

x_refsource_CONFIRMVendor Advisory
Source: cverecord
https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/security/advisories/GHSA-gg8q-rcg7-p79g
x_refsource_MISCRelease Notes
Source: cverecord
https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/releases/tag/v4.3.18
x_refsource_MISCRelease Notes
Source: cverecord
https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/releases/tag/v4.4.12
x_refsource_MISCRelease Notes
Source: cverecord
https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/releases/tag/v4.5.5

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitAutomatablePartial impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

7.5HIGHGitHub_M
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
NONE
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusANALYZED
CWE
CWE-770

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