CVE-2026-72712

Nmap 7.99 Denial of Service via Zero-Length TCP Option Packet

MEDIUM
6.5
CVSS Score
Published: August 11, 2026 at 05:35 PM UTC
Updated: October 24, 2026 at 03:10 PM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorNmap

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Severity
MEDIUM6.5
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.5%
SSVC
PoC

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.

Affected

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

0 ≤ v ≤ 7.990

Remediation

No guide yet

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

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCPoCNot automatablePartial impact

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

CVSS

6.5MEDIUMVulnCheck
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
NONE
User Interaction
REQUIRED
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
NONE
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusAWAITING ANALYSIS
CWE
CWE-835

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