CVE-2026-72712
Received Received - Intake

Denial of Service in Nmap via Zero-Length TCP Option

Publication date: 2026-08-11

Last updated on: 2026-08-11

Assigner: VulnCheck

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.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-08-11
Last Modified
2026-08-11
Generated
2026-08-11
AI Q&A
2026-08-11
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-72712
EUVD
EUVD-2026-56821

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 2 associated CPEs
Vendor Product Version / Range
insecure network_mapper to 7.99 (inc)
nmap nmap to 7.99 (inc)

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-835 The product contains an iteration or loop with an exit condition that cannot be reached, i.e., an infinite loop.

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Executive Summary

CVE-2026-72712 is a denial of service vulnerability in Nmap versions up to 7.99. It occurs when a crafted packet with a zero-length TCP option is sent to the application. This triggers an infinite loop in the Packet:parse_options() function in nselib/packet.lua, causing excessive memory allocation and crashing the application due to an out-of-memory condition.

Detection Guidance

To detect this vulnerability, monitor Nmap crashes during scans or network traffic analysis. Use Wireshark to capture packets and look for zero-length TCP options. Check Nmap logs for out-of-memory errors or application crashes during scans.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability allows remote attackers to crash Nmap by sending a specially crafted packet. If you use Nmap for network scanning, an attacker could exploit this to disrupt your scanning operations, leading to service unavailability or forced termination of Nmap processes.

Mitigation Strategies

Upgrade Nmap to the latest patched version to fix the infinite loop issue in Packet:parse_options(). Avoid running Nmap scans on untrusted networks until patched. Monitor system resources during scans to detect abnormal memory usage.

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