Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessOperate public DST dedicated server
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DeliveryPublish crafted public lobby listing
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ExploitVictim views or selects lobby
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ExecutionClient decodes invalid persistent blob header
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ImpactOut-of-bounds write corrupts native memory, crashing client
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Bounds checking, write limits
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Privilege Escalation The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires the attacker to operate a public dedicated server and publish a malicious public lobby server listing whose world_gen_data contains an invalid Klei persistent blob header length that drives the native persistent-string decoder to corrupt memory. The decisive limiting factor is user interaction (UI:A): the victim must actively view or select the attacker's lobby from the public server browser for the client-side decode to fire - it is not triggered by merely running the game. No authentication is required (PR:N), and the affected target is DST clients up to build 747465; impact is limited to crashing the victim's client (availability only), with no confidentiality or integrity effect and no code execution established in the available data. |
| Impact | This is a medium-severity, availability-only issue whose signals point to routine rather than emergency handling. The CVSS 4.0 vector (6.9) shows a network vector (AV:N) with low complexity (AC:N) and no privileges (PR:N), which looks alarming in isolation, but it is gated by required user interaction (UI:A) and the impact is scoped entirely to availability of the vulnerable system (VA:H; VC:N/VI:N, SC/SI/SA:N) - i.e. a client crash, not data theft or code execution. The vuln.today decision label is 'this_month', not act_now or emergency, consistent with a client-side denial of service that needs the victim to engage with an attacker-controlled lobby. No EPSS score is present in the provided data, so statistical exploitation probability cannot be weighed. There is no CISA KEV listing (status: not exploited per available data) and no confirmed public exploit, so this is not confirmed as actively exploited. One tension to flag: the CWE is CWE-787 (out-of-bounds write) and the description says native memory is corrupted, a bug class that can sometimes be escalated to code execution - yet both the assigned CVSS and the vendor framing scope impact to remote DoS only (VI:N/VC:N). Whether this out-of-bounds write could be driven beyond a crash is not established in the available sources and should be verified with VulnCheck/Klei rather than assumed. Net: a real but moderate client-side risk, best addressed by applying the available vendor update in a normal patch cycle. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker stands up a public Don't Starve Together dedicated server and publishes a crafted public lobby listing whose world_gen_data carries an invalid Klei persistent blob header length. When a victim browsing the public server list views or selects that lobby, their game client decodes the attacker-controlled data, corrupts native memory, and crashes (remote denial of service). No public exploit is identified at time of analysis, and exploitation requires the victim to interact with the malicious listing (UI:A). |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 28, 2026
Remote client crash in Don't Starve Together (Steam AppID 322330) up to build 747465: a malicious public dedicated-server operator can publish a lobby whose world_gen_data carries an invalid Klei persistent blob header length, and when a victim views or selects that listing the client decodes the attacker-controlled data and corrupts native memory, terminating the game. No authentication is required, but the attack is gated by user interaction - the victim must actively browse and choose the crafted lobby, so merely running the game is not enough. Impact is availability only (client crash) with no confidentiality, integrity, or code-execution impact established; no public exploit code and no confirmed active exploitation were identified at time of analysis, and a vendor fix is available.
RemediationAI
Upgrade Don't Starve Together past build 747465 as soon as a client update is offered on Steam - patch availability is listed as 'Available from vendor', and the game update notes at https://kleiforums.com/game-updates/dst/ document the fix, with further detail in the VulnCheck advisory at https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/don-t-starve-together-memory-corruption-via-world-gen-data; because the crash is client-side, every player who browses public lobbies must update, not just server operators. Until clients are updated, the only practical compensating controls trade functionality for safety: restrict play to private or friends-only sessions and avoid the public server browser (loses public matchmaking but removes the delivery path entirely), or join only known/whitelisted servers by direct connection rather than browsing listings (reduces but does not eliminate exposure if crafted data still arrives through those lobbies). No server-side filtering guidance is provided in the available sources, and no confirmed public exploit code or active exploitation has been reported, so triage priority is routine rather than emergency.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
Don't Starve Together publishes dedicated-server lobby metadata through Steam (AppID 322330) that includes world generation data, part of which is stored as a Klei 'persistent string' blob with an attacker-supplied header length field. The native decoder parses that blob client-side when the server browser renders or the player selects a listing, and CWE-787 (out-of-bounds write) means the declared length is trusted without sufficient validation against the actual buffer, so a crafted length causes the decoder to write outside the intended memory region and the client crashes. The flaw lives in the game's native C++ networking/serialization path rather than in any scripting layer, so the corruption occurs before game logic executes; the CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VA:H) confirms a network-reachable, low-complexity path with no privileges required, a high availability impact, and a mandatory active user step. Affected CPE is klei_entertainment:don't_starve_together:* with the report scoped 'through build 747465'.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Attacker's lobby is reachable over the network (AV:N) and trivially crafted (AC:L) with no auth (PR:N), but the victim must view/select the malicious lobby (UI:R); impact is a client crash only, so C:N/I:N/A:H.
Primary rating from Vendor (VulnCheck).
CVSS VectorVendor: VulnCheck
DescriptionCVE.org
Don't Starve Together (Steam AppID 322330) through build 747465 contains a memory-corruption vulnerability in the native persistent-string decoder that allows a remote attacker operating a public dedicated server to crash a victim's game client by publishing crafted world_gen_data with an invalid Klei persistent blob header length. Attackers can craft a malicious public lobby server listing that, once viewed or selected by the victim, triggers client-side decoding of the attacker-controlled data to corrupt native memory and cause a remote denial of service.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a memory buffer than it was allocated to hold, causing the excess data to spill into adjacent memory regions.
Memory corruption occurs when a program writes data beyond the boundaries of allocated memory regions or accesses memory in unintended ways, violating the integrity of the process's address space.
Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.
EUVD-2026-112278
GHSA-hxrq-hmg2-w94v
NVD
CVE.org
Exploit-DB