CVE-2020-5209: nethack Classic Buffer Overflow

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2020-5209 is a high (CVSS 7.8) Classic Buffer Overflow vulnerability in nethack. EPSS estimates a 0.81% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 56.1% of scored vulnerabilities.

Timeline

1. 28-01-2020
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 04-08-2024
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

In NetHack before 3.6.5, unknown options starting with -de and -i can cause a buffer overflow resulting in a crash or remote code execution/privilege escalation. This vulnerability affects systems that have NetHack installed suid/sgid and shared systems that allow users to influence command line options. Users should upgrade to NetHack 3.6.5.

• CWE-120Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input ('Classic Buffer Overflow')The product copies an input buffer to an output buffer without verifying that the size of the input buffer is less than the size of the output buffer.