# CVE-2026-71645: RACER denial of service in exploration state machine

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-71645-racer-denial-of-service-in-exploration-state-machine  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-09-10. Updated: 2026-09-26  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-71645 · Severity: high · CVSS 7.5 · Published 2026-09-10

RACER is a multi-UAV autonomous exploration system used for collaborative mapping and surveillance missions. A flaw in its exploration control logic can cause a UAV to become stuck in an infinite retry loop when attempting to reach an unreachable target, preventing the vehicle from making progress and potentially compromising the efficiency of multi-UAV teams. This results in mission failure or extended downtime until the operation times out.

Technologies: [Robotics-STAR-Lab (SYSU STAR Group) RACER](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/racer). Vendors: [Robotics-STAR-Lab (SYSU STAR Group)](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/robotics-star-lab-sysu-star-group).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-71645 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-71645 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-71645?** High severity, with a CVSS score of 7.5, published 10 September 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Robotics-STAR-Lab (SYSU STAR Group) RACER commit abcdef1234567890.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-71645?** No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.

**How is CVE-2026-71645 attacked?** It is attacked over the network.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-71645?** Check whether you run Robotics-STAR-Lab (SYSU STAR Group) RACER at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## Technical details

The vulnerability is an unbounded retry loop in the finite state machine (FSM) exploration component. When trajectory planning to a viewpoint fails (A* pathfinding returns FAIL), the FSM sets a static flag but does not limit retries, invalidate the unreachable target, or select an alternative frontier. Subsequent replanning operations triggered by collision avoidance or return behaviors continue attempting the same unreachable next_pos_ without forcing a new exploration-planning decision. The root cause is the absence of retry counters, target invalidation logic, and fallback-state transitions in the failure branch of the PLAN_TRAJ state. An affected UAV will repeatedly execute unsuccessful pathfinding and trajectory-planning operations, generating logs but making no exploration progress, effectively denying service to the mission. No patch status is mentioned in the advisory.

## Affected products

- Robotics-STAR-Lab (SYSU STAR Group) RACER commit abcdef1234567890

## Timeline

- 2026-09-10: disclosed

## References

- [https://gist.github.com/DongJiaxin0422/5c01ce9ab3211463b20dc8e86e6464de](https://gist.github.com/DongJiaxin0422/5c01ce9ab3211463b20dc8e86e6464de)
- [https://github.com/Robotics-STAR-Lab/RACER](https://github.com/Robotics-STAR-Lab/RACER)

## Related threats

- [Robotics-STAR-Lab RACER cooldown bypass denial of service](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-71646-robotics-star-lab-racer-cooldown-bypass-denial-of-service)