CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-56684NVD status: Awaiting Analysis

valkey: Use After Free

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-56684 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in valkey from Valkey-io, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. Affected valkey versions: < 7.2.14; >= 8.0.0, < 8.0.10; >= 8.1.0, < 8.1.9, and others listed below. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.52% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Check which version of valkey you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
  2. Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
Valkey-iovalkey< 7.2.14; >= 8.0.0, < 8.0.10; >= 8.1.0, < 8.1.9; >= 9.0.0, < 9.0.5; >= 9.1.0, < 9.1.1Not stated

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
HighSuccess depends on conditions outside the attacker's control.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
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:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA (github.com).

Official description

Valkey is a distributed key-value database. Prior to 7.2.14, 8.0.10, 8.1.9, 9.0.5, and 9.1.1, Valkey's tlsProcessPendingData function iterates pending_list while an authenticated client can trigger CLIENT KILL, causing connTLSClose to delete the iterator's cached next node and producing a use-after-free that can crash the server or potentially allow remote code execution when TLS is enabled. This issue is fixed in versions 7.2.14, 8.0.10, 8.1.9, 9.0.5, and 9.1.1.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Use After Free

The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory belongs to the code that operates on the new pointer.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Choose a language that provides automatic memory management.
  • When freeing pointers, be sure to set them to NULL once they are freed. However, the utilization of multiple or complex data structures may lower the usefulness of this strategy.

More Use After Free vulnerabilities (CWE-416)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other vulnerabilities in valkey

All valkey vulnerabilities

Recent Use After Free vulnerabilities

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