Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
-
AccessCraft malicious romfs image with oversized volume ID
-
DeliveryDeliver image to target for local parsing
-
ExploitBusyBox reads volume ID with unbounded strlen
-
ExecutionHeap buffer overflow via out-of-bounds write
-
ImpactMemory corruption enables code execution
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 | Requires local processing of an attacker-crafted romfs filesystem image by BusyBox: the attacker controls the romfs volume ID metadata, which is read with an unbounded strlen. Exploitation is limited by the local attack vector (AV:L) - the malicious image must reach the target - and by required user/process interaction (UI:R) to actually parse or mount the image; it is not remotely triggerable over a network. Only builds of BusyBox that include the romfs applet/parsing path are affected. |
| Impact | The provided CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, base 7.3) frames this as a local, low-complexity heap buffer overflow (CWE-787 out-of-bounds write) requiring some privilege and user interaction, with high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability - consistent with memory corruption in a filesystem parser that can escalate to arbitrary code execution. No EPSS score, KEV listing, or SSVC decision data was supplied, and no public exploit is referenced, so there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis. The AV:L designation is the key limiter: exploitation depends on getting a victim (or a privileged process) to parse an attacker-crafted romfs image rather than remote network reach, which sharply narrows real-world exploitability versus a remote flaw of the same score. One point of tension worth verifying with the vendor: the description ('processing crafted filesystem images') implies the attacker mainly needs to supply a malicious image, which argues for PR:N with UI:R rather than the PR:L in the published vector. Overall this is a credible but conditional issue - high technical impact gated behind local access and the victim actually mounting/parsing a malicious image - not a drop-everything remote priority. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker crafts a malicious romfs filesystem image with an oversized/unterminated volume ID field and delivers it to a target (e.g., a USB stick, downloaded image, or container/embedded-device firmware blob). When BusyBox parses the image, the unbounded strlen over the attacker-controlled volume metadata overflows a heap buffer, corrupting memory and potentially yielding code execution in the parsing process. No public exploit code is referenced at time of analysis. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Sep 23, 2026
A heap buffer overflow in BusyBox's romfs filesystem image parsing path can be triggered when the utility processes an attacker-crafted romfs image whose volume ID metadata is read with an unbounded strlen, producing an out-of-bounds heap write (CWE-787) rated CVSS 3.1 base 7.3. Because the attack vector is local (AV:L), the malicious image must be delivered to the target system - for example via removable media, a downloaded archive, a firmware/container image, or a package - and some process or user must then parse or mount it (UI:R); it is not remotely triggerable over a network. Under the assessed vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) no privileges are required, and successful corruption could yield code execution in the context of the parsing process with high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability; no public exploit or POC was identified in the supplied intelligence and there is no confirmed active exploitation.
RemediationAI
No vendor-released patch is identified in the supplied intelligence; operators should monitor the Red Hat advisory at https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-88832 and bug 2531345 for the fixed BusyBox release and backports, and apply the vendor build as soon as it is published, restarting affected services (or rebuilding initramfs images) afterward. In the interim, the highest-value compensating control is to never parse or mount untrusted romfs images: restrict who can supply filesystem images to the device, refuse to mount romfs from removable media, downloads, or user-writable locations, and validate images in an isolated environment first - accepting that this breaks legitimate workflows requiring arbitrary user-supplied romfs images. Where romfs support is unnecessary, rebuild BusyBox with the romfs parsing/mount path disabled or omitted from the configuration, at the cost of losing that mount capability. Additional hardening includes running image parsing and mounting under a dedicated unprivileged user or in a sandbox/container with no host filesystem access, compiling BusyBox with compiler hardening (_FORTIFY_SOURCE, stack and heap protections) so the overflow is more likely to abort than to be exploitable, and enabling ASLR and seccomp/AppArmor/SELinux confinement on processes that parse images - each of these raises exploitation difficulty but does not eliminate the underlying unbounded-length bug, so patching remains the only complete fix.
Affected ProductsAI
Any deployment of BusyBox that includes and exercises the romfs image parsing path (notably BusyBox-based mount helpers, initramfs/embedded firmware, and minimal Linux distributions that mount or inspect romfs images) is potentially affected, with exposure determined by build-time configuration and by whether untrusted images are processed. No CPE strings were supplied with this record, so a precise version range cannot be asserted from the available data; operators should map their BusyBox version and configuration against the Red Hat advisory at https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-88832 and the tracking bug at https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2531345. Red Hat's CVE page is the authoritative reference supplied here for downstream vendor status and affected-package information.
Affects your stack
Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
romfs is a simple, read-only Linux filesystem format whose superblock carries a volume ID string; BusyBox's romfs parsing code reads that attacker-controlled metadata with an unbounded strlen rather than a bounded copy, so a crafted image lacking a terminator within the expected field causes the length computation to run past the source buffer and an out-of-bounds heap write (CWE-787) in the destination allocation. This is a classic length-trust flaw in a filesystem parser: the parser treats on-disk metadata as trusted input, and because mounting and image inspection are typically performed by mount helpers, initramfs tooling, and embedded firmware utilities running as root or privileged services, the resulting memory corruption can escalate to arbitrary code execution and full control of the affected process. Only BusyBox builds that include the romfs parsing/mount path are exposed; the supplied references provide no CPE identifiers, so exposure must be determined per build and per configuration (for example, systems using BusyBox mount helpers in initramfs/embedded environments). The reported vector (PR:L) and the independent assessment (PR:N) differ on privilege requirements, though both agree on the local attack vector, required interaction, and high integrity/confidentiality/availability impact.
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Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Local vector because a crafted image must be parsed on-host (AV:L, UI:R); attacker only supplies the image so PR:N; heap overflow (CWE-787) plausibly yields code execution, so C/I/A:H.
AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Primary rating from Vendor (redhat).
CVSS VectorVendor: redhat
DescriptionCVE.org
BusyBox romfs volume ID parsing uses unbounded strlen on attacker-controlled metadata, causing a heap buffer overflow when processing crafted filesystem images.
Executive ViewAI
BusyBox, a widely embedded Linux utility, contains a heap buffer overflow in its romfs image parsing path that can lead to code execution in the context of the parsing process and high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The issue is local, requires user interaction to open or mount a crafted romfs image, and no public exploit or confirmed active exploitation was identified. Leadership should care because BusyBox is pervasive across IoT, network, container, and firmware estates, and No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis, so exposure depends on preventing untrusted romfs images from being parsed until a fix is available.
No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis; interim mitigations include blocking untrusted romfs images, disabling automount and unnecessary BusyBox romfs parsing applets, applying least privilege and sandboxing to parsing processes, enforcing media controls and application allowlisting, and monitoring for crashes or abnormal parsing behavior.
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.
Heap-based buffer overflow in the DHCP client (udhcpc) in BusyBox before 1.25.0 allows remote attackers to have unspecif
In the add_match function in libbb/lineedit.c in BusyBox through 1.27.2, the tab autocomplete feature of the shell, used
Integer overflow in the DHCP client (udhcpc) in BusyBox before 1.25.0 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of servi
BusyBox through 1.35.0 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code if netstat is used to print a DNS PTR record's
BusyBox wget thru 1.3.7 accepted raw CR (0x0D)/LF (0x0A) and other C0 control bytes in the HTTP request-target (path/que
A use-after-free in Busybox 1.35-x's awk applet leads to denial of service and possibly code execution when processing a
An issue was discovered in BusyBox through 1.30.0. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploi
util-linux/mdev.c in BusyBox before 1.21.0 uses 0777 permissions for parent directories when creating nested directories
An attacker-controlled pointer free in Busybox's hush applet leads to denial of service and possible code execution when
BusyBox project BusyBox wget version prior to commit 8e2174e9bd836e53c8b9c6e00d1bc6e2a718686e contains a Buffer Overflow
A heap-buffer-overflow was discovered in BusyBox v.1.36.1 in the next_token function at awk.c:1159. Rated medium severit
The get_next_block function in archival/libarchive/decompress_bunzip2.c in BusyBox 1.27.2 has an Integer Overflow that m
Same weakness CWE-787 – Out-of-bounds Write
View allSame technique Buffer Overflow
View allVendor StatusVendor
SUSE
Severity: Important| Product | Status |
|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | Fixed |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 12 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.0 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 12 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server LTSS Extended Security 12 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE CaaS Platform 4.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 6 | Affected |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 7 | Affected |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 7.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 12 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 12 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 12 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 12 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Point of Sale 12 SP2-CLIENT | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP1-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2-BCL | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3-BCL | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-BCL | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-BCL | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-BCL | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for Raspberry Pi 12 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.2 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy LTS 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.2 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server LTS 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.2 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server LTS 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 7 | Affected |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 8 | Affected |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 9 | Affected |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 8 | Affected |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 9 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.3 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.4 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.5 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for NVIDIA 16.1 | Affected |
| bci/bci-busybox bci/bci-busybox:15.4 bci/bci-busybox:15.5 bci/bci-busybox:15.6 bci/bci-busybox:16.0 bci/bci-busybox:16.1 rancher/elemental-channel/sl-micro:6.2-baremetal rancher/elemental-channel/sl-micro:6.2-base rancher/elemental-channel/sl-micro:6.2-kvm rancher/elemental-channel/sl-micro:6.2-rt suse/sl-micro/6.2/baremetal-iso-image suse/sl-micro/6.2/base-iso-image suse/sl-micro/6.2/kvm-iso-image suse/sl-micro/6.2/rt-iso-image | Affected |
EUVD-2026-85426
GHSA-hqw2-f49w-7w56
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
VulDB
Exploit-DB