In Eclipse Mosquitto versions 1.5 to 1.5.2 inclusive, if a message is published to Mosquitto that has a topic starting with $, but that is not $SYS, e.g. $test/test, then an assert is triggered that should otherwise not be reachable and Mosquitto will exit.
The product contains an assert() or similar statement that can be triggered by an attacker, which leads to an application exit or other behavior that is more severe than necessary.
| Name | Vendor | Start Version | End Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mosquitto | Eclipse | 1.5.0 (including) | 1.5.2 (including) |
While assertion is good for catching logic errors and reducing the chances of reaching more serious vulnerability conditions, it can still lead to a denial of service. For example, if a server handles multiple simultaneous connections, and an assert() occurs in one single connection that causes all other connections to be dropped, this is a reachable assertion that leads to a denial of service.