NATS v2.14.3

This release focuses on hardening the JetStream subsystem and Raft consensus layer to ensure high reliability in distributed clusters. It addresses several critical panics in MQTT and monitoring, optimizes memory usage for long-lived connections, and resolves security-related edge cases in authentication and TLS handling.

JetStream Stability and Raft Consistency Enhancements — Significant fixes to Raft consensus, stream catchup, and meta-node tracking prevent data desynchronization and ensure that message streams remain consistent across clustered environments.

Hardening against Denial of Service and Resource Exhaustion — Updates to MQTT packet handling and monitoring endpoints prevent memory exhaustion attacks and crashes, which is critical for edge deployments and public-facing NATS instances.

Authentication and Secure Connectivity Improvements — Fixes to the PROXY protocol, TLS sniffing, and JWT permission refreshing ensure that identity-based access control and secure connectivity remain reliable during configuration updates.

Reduced Memory Pressure in Long-Running Connections — Resolving timer retention issues in long-running loops reduces memory pressure, ensuring the server remains lean and stable even in environments with frequent reconnections.