---
id: CVE-2026-67238
title: RabbitMQ is a messaging and streaming broker
summary: >-
  RabbitMQ is a messaging and streaming broker. Prior to versions 4.2.7 and
  4.3.1, rabbit_pid_codec:decompose_from_binary/1 parses a caller-supplied
  ETF-encoded binary and calls binary_to_atom(Node, utf8) on the node-name
  field. It is reac…
severity: high
cvss: 7.1
cvssVector: 'CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N'
cwe:
  - CWE-400
  - CWE-770
vendor: rabbitmq
product: rabbitmq-server
affected:
  - 'rabbitmq-server >= 4.2.0, < 4.2.7'
  - 'rabbitmq-server >= 4.3.0, < 4.3.1'
published: '2026-09-23'
updated: '2026-09-24'
sourceUpdated: '2026-09-24T16:17:09.780'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-67238'
references:
  - url: 'https://github.com/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-server/releases/tag/v4.2.7'
    label: security-advisories@github.com
  - url: 'https://github.com/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-server/releases/tag/v4.3.1'
    label: security-advisories@github.com
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-server/security/advisories/GHSA-x96j-244m-mrr2
    label: security-advisories@github.com
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-67238.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-67238'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2539723'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-67238'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-67238'
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:67552'
tags:
  - nvd
  - cve.org
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
ssvc:
  exploitation: none
  automatable: 'no'
  technicalImpact: partial
  timestamp: '2026-09-24T13:58:59.018268Z'
cvssSource: cna
ingestedAt: '2026-09-23T20:32:10.748Z'
patched:
  - hardened_images
scores:
  cna: 7.1
  vendor: 6.5
epss: 0.0033
epssPercentile: 0.23396
---

## Overview

RabbitMQ is a messaging and streaming broker. Prior to versions 4.2.7 and 4.3.1, rabbit_pid_codec:decompose_from_binary/1 parses a caller-supplied ETF-encoded binary and calls binary_to_atom(Node, utf8) on the node-name field. It is reached from rabbit_volatile_queue:pid_from_name/2, which is invoked for any queue name / routing key beginning amq.rabbitmq.reply-to.. The CandidateNodes membership check happens after the atom is created, and the surrounding try/catch cannot reclaim atoms (they are never GC'd). binary_to_existing_atom is not used. Any authenticated AMQP client can crash the entire Erlang VM (all vhosts, all connections) with ~1M cheap requests. Preconditions include Authenticated AMQP 0-9-1 connection to any vhost No per-connection rate limit low enough to make ~1M operations infeasible. This issue is fixed in versions 4.2.7 and 4.3.1.

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.

## Vendor advisories

- **RHSA-2026:67552** · Red Hat · fixed in: Red Hat Hardened Images · released 2026-09-15 · [advisory](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:67552)
- **Red Hat VEX** · Moderate · affected: Red Hat Hardened Images, Red Hat OpenStack Platform 18.0 · no fix planned: Red Hat Hardened Images, Red Hat OpenStack Platform 18.0 · updated 2026-09-25 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-67238.json)