mercury: Incorrect Regular Expression
CVE-2026-111057 is a critical-severity incorrect regular expression vulnerability in mercury from Mljar, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 10.0 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. Affected mercury versions: >= 3.0.0, < 3.2.4. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.7% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 54% of scored CVEs.
Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.
What to do
- Check which version of mercury you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
- Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
- Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.
Affected products and versions
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- NoneNo account or login is needed.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- ChangedThe attack can reach beyond the vulnerable component into other systems.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA (github.com).
Official description
Mercury is a Python framework for sharing Jupyter notebooks as web applications and dashboards. From 3.0.0 until 3.2.4, a missing comma in BLOCKED_PATTERNS concatenates the /lab and /api/terminals regular-expression literals. Requests to /api/terminals therefore bypass the anonymous endpoint blocklist and reach Jupyter Server's terminal API. An unauthenticated attacker can use the resulting interactive operating-system shell to execute commands and access data available to the Mercury process. This issue is fixed in version 3.2.4.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Incorrect Regular Expression
The product specifies a regular expression in a way that causes data to be improperly matched or compared.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Regular expressions can become error prone when defining a complex language even for those experienced in writing grammars. Determine if several smaller regular expressions simplify one large regular expression. Also, subject the regular expression to thorough testing techniques such as equivalence partitioning, boundary value analysis, and robustness. After testing and a reasonable confidence level is achieved, a regular expression may not be foolproof. If an exploit is allowed to slip through, then record the exploit and refactor the regular expression.
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: poc, automatable: yes, technical impact: total).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Patches and release notes
Other vulnerabilities in mercury
- 9.8 Critical severity
Recent Incorrect Regular Expression vulnerabilities
- 8.2 High severity
- 7.1 High severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 9.3 Critical severity
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