CVE-2026-81516
Steeltoe.Discovery.Consul: malformed 'secure' metadata aborts service instance lookup (DoS)
Description
Steeltoe is an open source project that provides a collection of libraries that helps users build cloud-native applications. From 4.0.0 until 4.3.0, ConsulDiscoveryClient constructs ConsulServiceInstance objects by parsing each registration's secure metadata with a strict Boolean conversion. A principal that can register a Consul service can supply a secure value other than true or false, causing the exception from one instance to abort construction of the entire instance list and make the targeted service undiscoverable. When GetAllInstancesAsync enumerates all services, one malformed instance can abort enumeration across every service. The outage persists until the offending registration is removed. This issue is fixed in version 4.3.0.
INFO
Published Date :
Sept. 17, 2026, 4:17 p.m.
Last Modified :
Sept. 30, 2026, 5:31 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
Yes !
Source :
[email protected]
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS | 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 | |||||
| CVSS 3.1 | HIGH | [email protected] |
Solution
- Update Steeltoe to version 4.3.0 or later.
- Remove malformed Consul service registrations.
- Validate Consul registration data for secure metadata.
- Restart affected services after updates.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-81516.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-81516 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-81516
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-81516 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-81516 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
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CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Sep. 17, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added SSVC {'id': 'CVE-2026-81516', 'role': 'CISA Coordinator', 'options': [{'exploitation': 'none'}, {'automatable': 'yes'}, {'technicalImpact': 'partial'}], 'version': '2.0.3', 'timestamp': '2026-09-17T17:06:09.444746Z'} -
New CVE Received by [email protected]
Sep. 17, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description Steeltoe is an open source project that provides a collection of libraries that helps users build cloud-native applications. From 4.0.0 until 4.3.0, ConsulDiscoveryClient constructs ConsulServiceInstance objects by parsing each registration's secure metadata with a strict Boolean conversion. A principal that can register a Consul service can supply a secure value other than true or false, causing the exception from one instance to abort construction of the entire instance list and make the targeted service undiscoverable. When GetAllInstancesAsync enumerates all services, one malformed instance can abort enumeration across every service. The outage persists until the offending registration is removed. This issue is fixed in version 4.3.0. Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Added CWE CWE-755 Added Affected New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/81xxx/CVE-2026-81516.json">CVE-2026-81516</a> Added Reference https://github.com/SteeltoeOSS/security-advisories/security/advisories/GHSA-67c9-f6v2-qv86 Added Reference https://github.com/SteeltoeOSS/Steeltoe/commit/028569c4f4f0e9e393e3c22a4fa5d07987dd8673 Added Reference https://github.com/SteeltoeOSS/Steeltoe/releases/tag/4.3.0