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lrzsz EUVDEUVD-2026-93394

| CVE-2026-105842 MEDIUM
Heap-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-122)
2026-10-06 VulnCheck GHSA-3cw3-cf87-8pwp
6.1
CVSS 4.0 · Vendor: VulnCheck
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Lure victim to start lrz ZMODEM receive
  2. Exploit
    Send file with 8192-byte filename
  3. Execution
    Overflow Pathname buffer via sprintf/strcpy in procheader()
  4. Impact
    Corrupt heap and crash lrz

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Heap buffer bounds checking
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Execution

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 victim to actively run the lrz receive utility and accept an inbound ZMODEM transfer from an attacker-controlled or compromised sender (UI:P / AT:P) - it cannot be triggered passively. The attacker must supply a filename approaching 8192 bytes to overflow the fixed Pathname buffer; the sprintf() path is specifically reached when lrz operates in pipe mode, while the strcpy() path applies more generally. Affected builds are lrzsz before 0.13.0 (vendor uwe_ohse). Limiting factors: no code path is reached unless a receive session is initiated, exposure is bounded to hosts that actually use lrz for ZMODEM transfers, and the primary demonstrated impact is a crash (denial of service) rather than confirmed remote code execution.

Impact

This is a moderate-severity memory-safety flaw whose real-world risk is limited by its exploitation preconditions rather than its reachability. The provided CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P, base 6.1) shows no privileges required (PR:N) but both a present attack requirement (AT:P) and active user interaction (UI:P) - the victim must voluntarily initiate a ZMODEM receive via lrz from an attacker-controlled sender, which is the dominant risk-limiting factor. Impact is skewed toward availability (VA:H) with only low confidentiality/integrity impact (VC:L/VI:L), consistent with a description that characterizes the outcome as heap corruption and a crash rather than confirmed arbitrary code execution. No EPSS score, KEV listing, or POC indicator is present in the supplied data, so there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and no evidence of active exploitation. Net assessment: a legitimate bug worth patching on systems that use lrz, but not an urgent fleet-wide priority - the required user-initiated transfer from a malicious peer makes it a targeted/opportunistic concern rather than a wormable or mass-exploitable one. Note a mild tension to verify with the vendor: the description mentions sprintf()/strcpy() heap overflow that 'could corrupt heap memory,' which in principle can escalate beyond a crash, yet the CVSS impact is scored only VA:H with low C/I - treat code-execution potential as unconfirmed.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker who controls or compromises the remote end of a serial/terminal session waits for (or socially engineers) a victim to start a ZMODEM download using lrz, then transmits a file whose name is up to 8192 bytes long. When procheader() copies this oversized sender-supplied filename into the fixed Pathname buffer via sprintf() (pipe mode) or strcpy(), the heap buffer overflows, corrupting memory and crashing lrz. No public exploit code is identified in the supplied data.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
Patch available 0.2% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Oct 06, 2026

Heap memory corruption in the lrzsz lrz ZMODEM receive utility (all versions before 0.13.0) allows a malicious or compromised ZMODEM sender to overflow the fixed-size Pathname buffer in procheader() by supplying an overlong filename of up to 8192 bytes, crashing lrz and potentially enabling limited heap manipulation. Exploitation is not passive: the victim must be actively running the lrz receive utility and accept an inbound transfer from the attacker-controlled sender (UI:P/AT:P), and the demonstrated primary impact is denial of service rather than confirmed remote code execution. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis, and the flaw is not listed in CISA KEV; the overall real-world risk is constrained by these preconditions, consistent with a moderate-severity rating.

RemediationAI

The vendor-released patch is lrzsz 0.13.0, so the primary remediation is to upgrade to 0.13.0 or later; distribution maintainers should backport the procheader() length check if they cannot rebase to the new upstream release, and the release notes at https://ohse.de/uwe/software/lrzsz/NEWS-0.13.0.html plus the project page at https://ohse.de/uwe/software/lrzsz.html should be consulted for the exact changes. If upgrading is not immediately possible, avoid initiating lrz receive sessions from untrusted or unknown ZMODEM senders, because the overflow requires the victim to accept an inbound transfer (UI:P/AT:P) and cannot be triggered passively; additionally, avoid invoking lrz in pipe mode (the -E/--pipe style invocation that reaches the sprintf() copy) since that path is explicitly implicated, though disabling pipe mode does not protect the general strcpy() receive path. Blocking unsolicited ZMODEM transfers at the terminal or automation layer reduces exposure but will break legitimate file-receive workflows, and monitoring or restarting lrz processes that crash can limit disruption if a malicious sender is encountered. Apply the 0.13.0 fix where possible rather than relying solely on these compensating controls.

Affected VersionsENISA

lrzsz 0 <0.13.0

Affected Packages

euvd lrzsz fix: 0.13.0

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

lrzsz is the classic Unix implementation of the ZMODEM file-transfer protocol, with lrz acting as the receiving client and sz as the sender. During an inbound ZMODEM session, procheader() parses the sender-supplied file metadata, including the filename, into a fixed-size Pathname buffer; the code fails to validate the filename length before copying it, which is the root cause class CWE-122 (heap-based buffer overflow). The overflow is reached via sprintf() specifically when lrz operates in pipe mode, and via strcpy() in the more general receive path, so either a crafted pipe-mode invocation or a standard receive session can trigger out-of-bounds writes beyond the allocated Pathname object. The affected CPE range cpe:2.3:a:uwe_ohse:lrzsz:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* covers all builds prior to the 0.13.0 release from vendor uwe_ohse. The CVSS 4.0 vector AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:L/VI:L/VA:H reflects network reachability with no privileges required, but attack preconditions and user interaction are required because a receive session must be initiated and a malicious sender must be accepted; the assessed CVSS 3.1 vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H agrees on high availability impact, with integrity and confidentiality impact limited.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

Vendor (VulnCheck) PRIMARY 6.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:L/VI:L/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
vuln.today AI 7.6 HIGH

Attacker needs no privileges (PR:N) but the victim must initiate the ZMODEM receive (UI:R); impact is chiefly a crash (A:H) with only incidental heap-corruption C/I exposure.

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:L/VI:L/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Red Hat 6.4 MEDIUM

Primary rating from Vendor (VulnCheck).

CVSS VectorVendor: VulnCheck

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Attack Requirements
Present
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
Passive
Vulnerable system: Confidentiality
Low
Vulnerable system: Integrity
Low
Vulnerable system: Availability
High
Subsequent system: Confidentiality
None
Subsequent system: Integrity
None
Subsequent system: Availability
None

Lifecycle Timeline

1
Patch available
Oct 06, 2026 - 15:03 EUVD

DescriptionCVE.org

lrzsz before 0.13.0 contains a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in procheader() of the lrz receive utility when copying overlong sender-supplied filenames into Pathname. Malicious ZMODEM senders can supply filenames up to 8192 bytes, overflowing the buffer via sprintf() in pipe mode or strcpy() to corrupt heap memory and crash lrz.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.2%
Top 90% exploitable
Prevalence
Low
niche serial-transfer ZMODEM utility, packaged widely but used in limited production contexts
Data Quality
3 sources
Confidence: Low

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.

SignalValue
Severity MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.2%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

30
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +30
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

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.

A heap overflow occurs when a program writes data beyond the bounds of a buffer allocated in the heap memory region.

Vendor StatusVendor

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