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MilvusApplication

CVE-2026-26190

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-02-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.5.27 / 2.6.10 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Public exploit Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available

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 · unedited
Milvus is an open-source vector database built for generative AI applications. Prior to 2.5.27 and 2.6.10, Milvus exposes TCP port 9091 by default, which enables authentication bypasses. The /expr debug endpoint uses a weak, predictable default authentication token derived from etcd.rootPath (default: by-dev), enabling arbitrary expression evaluation. The full REST API (/api/v1/*) is registered on the metrics/management port without any authentication, allowing unauthenticated access to all business operations including data manipulation and credential management. This vulnerability is fixed in 2.5.27 and 2.6.10.

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 confidence

Milvus versions prior to 2.5.27 and 2.6.10 expose TCP port 9091 by default with two critical authentication flaws: the /expr debug endpoint uses a weak, predictable default token (derived from etcd.rootPath default 'by-dev'), and the full REST API (/api/v1/*) is registered on the metrics port without any authentication, allowing unauthenticated data manipulation and credential management.

MitigationUpgrade to Milvus 2.5.27 or 2.6.10, or restrict access to port 9091 and implement proper authentication on the REST API endpoints.

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
MilvusApplication
Affected:< 2.5.27>= 2.6.0, < 2.6.10

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed Milvus version
    Check the Milvus version by querying the server or inspecting the deployment. Common methods: milvus-server --version, docker images, helm chart version, or curl http://localhost:9091/metrics
    Affected if Version is below 2.5.27, or >= 2.6.0 and below 2.6.10
  2. Verify if TCP port 9091 is listening
    Run 'netstat -tlnp | grep 9091' or 'ss -tlnp | grep 9091' on the Milvus host, or scan the host with nmap -p 9091 <host>
    Affected if Port 9091 is open and listening on an interface accessible to untrusted networks
  3. Test REST API accessibility on port 9091
    Send an unauthenticated HTTP request to a REST endpoint: curl -s http://<milvus-host>:9091/api/v1/health or curl -s http://<milvus-host>:9091/api/v1/collections
    Affected if The API returns valid JSON responses without requiring authentication (no 401/403 errors)
  4. Check /expr debug endpoint accessibility
    curl -s http://<milvus-host>:9091/expr -H 'Authorization: by-dev' or test with the default etcd.rootPath value as the token
    Affected if The /expr endpoint responds to requests using the default token 'by-dev' or the value of etcd.rootPath without requiring proper authentication

You are affected if Milvus version is < 2.5.27 or >= 2.6.0 < 2.6.10 AND port 9091 is exposed to untrusted networks, allowing unauthenticated access to /api/v1/* endpoints or the weak token-based /expr endpoint.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2.5.27 / 2.6.10 or later
Fixed in 2.5.272.6.10
Vendor patch github.com →
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Milvus 2.5.27 or 2.6.10, or restrict access to port 9091 and implement proper authentication on the REST API endpoints.

Recommended fix High confidence

Milvus 2.5.27 or 2.6.10 (select based on your current version branch)

  1. Upgrade Milvus to version 2.5.27 if running a 2.5.x release, or to version 2.6.10 if running a 2.6.x release
  2. After upgrading, verify that TCP port 9091 now requires proper authentication
  3. Confirm that the REST API endpoints (/api/v1/*) now enforce authentication
  4. If running in a containerized environment, update your container image tags to the fixed version (e.g., milvusdb/milvus:v2.5.27 or milvusdb/milvus:v2.6.10)
  5. If using Helm charts, update the chart version to deploy the fixed Milvus release
Caveat This is a security fix that enforces authentication where it was previously missing; ensure your application handles the newly required authentication

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Milvus Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,690
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,304.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-26190 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data