CVE-2026-26011
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditednavigation2 is a ROS 2 Navigation Framework and System. In 1.3.11 and earlier, a critical heap out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists in Nav2 AMCL's particle filter clustering logic. By publishing a single crafted geometry_msgs/PoseWithCovarianceStamped message with extreme covariance values to the /initialpose topic, an unauthenticated attacker on the same ROS 2 DDS domain can trigger a negative index write (set->clusters[-1]) into heap memory preceding the allocated buffer. In Release builds, the sole boundary check (assert) is compiled out, leaving zero runtime protection. This primitive allows controlled corruption of the heap chunk metadata(at least the size of the heap chunk where the set->clusters is in is controllable by the attacker), potentially leading to further exploitation. At minimum, it provides a reliable single-packet denial of service that kills localization and halts all navigation.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceA heap out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists in Nav2 AMCL's particle filter clustering logic where a negative index write (set->clusters[-1]) occurs due to a missing runtime bounds check when processing extreme covariance values from a crafted geometry_msgs/PoseWithCovarianceStamped message on the /initialpose topic. In Release builds, the assert-based boundary check is compiled out, allowing attackers to corrupt heap metadata and cause denial of service.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data<= 1.3.11CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed Nav2 versionRun 'ros2 pkg list | grep navigation2' or check your system's package manager for the navigation2 package version. Alternatively, inspect the nav2_bringup launch files or Docker image tags if deployed containerized.Affected if The installed navigation2 or nav2_bringup package version is 1.3.11 or lower.
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Confirm AMCL node is in useVerify that the AMCL (Adaptive Monte Carlo Localization) node is running in your ROS 2 system. Check via 'ros2 node list' looking for /amcl, or inspect your launch configuration for the use of nav2_amcl launch file.Affected if AMCL is actively running as part of your navigation2 stack.
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Assess /initialpose topic exposureCheck if the /initialpose topic is exposed to the network or DDS domain accessible to untrusted parties. Review your DDS configuration (XML profiles) and network segmentation around the ROS 2 domain.Affected if The /initialpose topic is reachable from an unauthenticated attacker on the same DDS domain.
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Check for covariance input validationReview custom nodes or middleware filters that process /initialpose messages. Look for any pre-processing logic that validates covariance values in geometry_msgs/PoseWithCovarianceStamped before passing to AMCL.Affected if No input validation exists on covariance values received via /initialpose, and the Nav2 version is <= 1.3.11.
You are affected if running Nav2 version 1.3.11 or earlier with AMCL active and the /initialpose topic accessible without validation of covariance values.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade to Nav2 version 1.3.12 or later which should contain the patched bounds checking; additionally, implement network segmentation and domain isolation to limit DDS domain access to trusted nodes only.
Nav2 version 1.3.12 or later (or main branch after commit d09ea82477ce9234678a6febf6890235e0a7ce12)
- 1. Identify the current Nav2 version in use by checking the package.xml or CMakeLists.txt in your navigation2 workspace
- 2. Locate the navigation2 source code in your ROS 2 workspace (typically at ~/ws/src/navigation2 or /opt/ros/<distro>/share/navigation2)
- 3. Navigate to the navigation2 repository directory
- 4. Pull the latest changes from the upstream repository: git fetch origin && git pull origin main (or relevant branch)
- 5. Alternatively, checkout the specific fixed commit if you prefer a minimal fix: git fetch origin && git checkout d09ea82477ce9234678a6febf6890235e0a7ce12
- 6. Rebuild the navigation2 packages to apply the fix: colcon build --packages-select navigation2 amcl (or the relevant packages)
- 7. Restart the Nav2 nodes to load the patched binaries
- 8. Verify the fix is applied by checking the AMCL particle filter code contains the boundary fix for the cluster array access
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-26011 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-26011 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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