Buffer Overflow
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.
How It Works
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. This overwrites whatever data or code exists there, corrupting program state and potentially giving attackers control over execution flow.
Stack-based overflows are the most common variant. When a function allocates a fixed-size buffer on the stack and then copies user-controlled input without proper bounds checking, attackers can overflow past the buffer to overwrite the function's return address. When the function completes, instead of returning to legitimate code, execution jumps to attacker-specified memory containing malicious shellcode. Heap-based overflows work differently—they corrupt heap metadata like chunk size fields or free list pointers, leading to arbitrary memory writes when the allocator processes the corrupted structures.
Modern exploitation bypasses defensive mechanisms through techniques like Return-Oriented Programming (ROP), which chains together existing code snippets to avoid non-executable memory protections. Attackers may also use heap spraying to reliably position shellcode at predictable addresses, defeating address randomization.
Impact
- Remote code execution — attacker gains ability to run arbitrary commands with the privileges of the vulnerable process
- Privilege escalation — exploiting kernel or setuid program overflows to gain root/SYSTEM access
- Denial of service — crashes and memory corruption that render systems unusable
- Information disclosure — reading sensitive data from adjacent memory regions that should be inaccessible
- Authentication bypass — overwriting security-critical variables like permission flags or user IDs
Real-World Examples
Fortinet FortiOS suffered a critical buffer overflow (CVE-2025-32756) that allowed unauthenticated remote attackers to execute code as root on firewalls and VPN gateways. Attackers actively exploited this to compromise enterprise network perimeters before patches were available.
The Slammer worm from 2003 exploited a stack overflow in Microsoft SQL Server, spreading to 75,000 hosts in ten minutes by sending a single malformed UDP packet that overwrote the return address with shellcode. No authentication was required.
OpenSSH historically contained a heap overflow in challenge-response authentication that allowed pre-authentication remote root compromise on Unix systems, demonstrating how memory corruption in privileged network services creates maximum impact scenarios.
Mitigation
- Memory-safe languages — Rust, Go, and modern managed languages prevent buffer overflows by design through automatic bounds checking
- Stack canaries — random values placed before return addresses that detect corruption before control transfer
- Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) — randomizes memory locations making exploitation less reliable
- Data Execution Prevention (DEP/NX) — marks memory regions as non-executable, preventing direct shellcode execution
- Bounds checking — validate input sizes before copying, use safe functions like
strncpyinstead ofstrcpy - Fuzzing and static analysis — automated testing to discover overflows before deployment
Recent CVEs (5475)
Substance3D - Designer versions 14.0.2 and earlier are affected by an out-of-bounds write vulnerability that could result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
InDesign Desktop versions ID20.0, ID19.5.1 and earlier are affected by an out-of-bounds write vulnerability that could result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
InDesign Desktop versions ID20.0, ID19.5.1 and earlier are affected by an out-of-bounds read vulnerability that could lead to disclosure of sensitive memory. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
InDesign Desktop versions ID20.0, ID19.5.1 and earlier are affected by a Heap-based Buffer Overflow vulnerability that could result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
InDesign Desktop versions ID20.0, ID19.5.1 and earlier are affected by an out-of-bounds write vulnerability that could result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A stack-based buffer overflow [CWE-121] vulnerability in Fortinet FortiOS version 7.2.4 through 7.2.8 and version 7.4.0 through 7.4.4 allows a remote unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
A stack-based buffer overflow in Ivanti Connect Secure before version 22.7R2.6 allows a remote authenticated attacker to achieve remote code execution. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Epss exploitation probability 42.0% and no vendor patch available.
A vulnerability has been identified in OpenV2G (All versions < V0.9.6). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.9), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability has been identified in APOGEE PXC Series (BACnet) (All versions), APOGEE PXC Series (P2 Ethernet) (All versions), TALON TC Series (BACnet) (All versions). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.0), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, was found in GNU Binutils 2.43. Rated low severity (CVSS 2.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A vulnerability classified as critical was found in GNU Binutils 2.43. Rated low severity (CVSS 2.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A vulnerability classified as problematic has been found in GNU Binutils 2.43. Rated low severity (CVSS 2.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A vulnerability was found in GNU Binutils 2.43. Rated low severity (CVSS 2.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A vulnerability was found in GNU Binutils 2.43. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A vulnerability was found in GNU Binutils 2.43 and classified as critical.c of the component ld. Rated low severity (CVSS 2.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. Public exploit code available.
A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, has been found in code-projects Police FIR Record Management System 1.0. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A vulnerability classified as critical was found in code-projects Vehicle Parking Management System 1.0. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A vulnerability classified as problematic was found in GNU Binutils 2.43/2.44. Rated low severity (CVSS 2.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. Public exploit code available.
A stack overflow vulnerability in the Tenda W18E V16.01.0.8(1625) web management portal allows an authenticated remote attacker to cause a denial of service or potentially execute arbitrary code. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.0), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Tenda W18E V16.01.0.8(1625) is vulnerable to Buffer Overflow. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.0), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vfio/platform: check the bounds of read/write syscalls count and offset are passed from user space and not checked, only offset is. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Out-of-bounds Read vulnerability could allow attackers to read data from memory outside the intended buffer boundaries.
A vulnerability has been found in GNU Binutils 2.43 and classified as problematic. Rated low severity (CVSS 2.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
NEXTU FLETA AX1500 WIFI6 v1.0.3 was discovered to contain a buffer overflow at /boafrm/formIpQoS. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.6). No vendor patch available.
in OpenHarmony v4.1.2 and prior versions allow a local attacker cause the common permission is upgraded to root and sensitive information leak through buffer overflow. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
in OpenHarmony v4.1.2 and prior versions allow a local attacker cause DOS through integer overflow. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Delta Electronics CNCSoft-G2 lacks proper validation of the length of user-supplied data prior to copying it to a fixed-length heap-based buffer. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Buffer Overflow vulnerability in Proftpd commit 4017eff8 allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code and can cause a Denial of Service (DoS) on the FTP service by sending a maliciously crafted. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In rare scenarios, the cpca process on the Security Management Server / Domain Management Server may exit unexpectedly, creating a core dump file. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Out-of-bounds write vulnerability in the emcom module Impact: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may cause features to perform abnormally. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Out-of-bounds array read vulnerability in the FFRT module Impact: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may cause features to perform abnormally. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.7), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Out-of-bounds read vulnerability in the interpreter string module Impact: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may affect availability. Rated low severity (CVSS 2.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Arbitrary write vulnerability in the Gallery module Impact: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may affect service confidentiality. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.1), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Buffer overflow vulnerability exists in Defense Platform Home Edition Ver.3.9.51.x and earlier. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
When URL categorization is configured on a virtual server, undisclosed requests can cause TMM to terminate. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
When BIG-IP Advanced WAF/ASM Behavioral DoS (BADoS) TLS Signatures feature is configured, undisclosed traffic can case an increase in memory resource utilization. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
When BIG-IP APM Access Profile is configured on a virtual server, undisclosed request can cause TMM to terminate. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
When libcurl is asked to perform automatic gzip decompression of content-encoded HTTP responses with the `CURLOPT_ACCEPT_ENCODING` option, **using zlib 1.2.0.3 or older**, an attacker-controlled. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
AutomationDirect C-more EA9 HMI contains a function with bounds checks that can be skipped, which could result in an attacker abusing the function to cause a denial-of-service condition or achieving. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Memory safety bugs present in Firefox 134 and Thunderbird 134. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Memory safety bugs present in Firefox 134, Thunderbird 134, Firefox ESR 128.6, and Thunderbird 128.6. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Memory safety bugs present in Firefox 134, Thunderbird 134, Firefox ESR 115.19, Firefox ESR 128.6, Thunderbird 115.19, and Thunderbird 128.6. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Out-of-bounds read and write in mPOS TUI trustlet prior to SMR Feb-2025 Release 1 allows local privileged attackers to read and write out-of-bounds memory. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Out-of-bounds write in mPOS TUI trustlet prior to SMR Feb-2025 Release 1 allows local privileged attackers to cause memory corruption. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Out-of-bounds read in Blockchain Keystore prior to version 1.3.16.5 allows local privileged attackers to read out-of-bounds memory. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.4), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Out-of-bounds write in Blockchain Keystore prior to version 1.3.16.5 allows local privileged attackers to write out-of-bounds memory. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Out-of-bounds read in decoding malformed bitstream of video thumbnails in libsthmbc.so prior to SMR Jan-2025 Release 1 allows local attackers to read arbitrary memory. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
Out-of-bounds write in decoding frame buffer in libsthmbc.so prior to SMR Jan-2025 Release 1 allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code with privilege. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.0), this vulnerability is no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
Out-of-bounds read in decoding malformed bitstream for smp4vtd in libsthmbc.so prior to SMR Jan-2025 Release 1 allows local attackers to read arbitrary memory. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
Out-of-bounds write in handling the block size for smp4vtd in libsthmbc.so prior to SMR Jan-2025 Release 1 allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code with privilege. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.0), this vulnerability is no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
Out-of-bounds read in accessing table used for svp8t in libsthmbc.so prior to SMR Jan-2025 Release 1 allows local attackers to read arbitrary memory. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
Out-of-bounds write in softsim trustlet prior to SMR Jan-2025 Release 1 allows local privileged attackers to cause memory corruption. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.4). No vendor patch available.
Out-of-bounds write in accessing uninitialized memory for svc1td in libsthmbc.so prior to SMR Jan-2025 Release 1 allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code with privilege. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.0), this vulnerability is no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
Out-of-bounds write in accessing buffer storing the decoded video frames in libsthmbc.so prior to SMR Jan-2025 Release 1 allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code with privilege. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.0), this vulnerability is no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
A security issue in the firmware image verification implementation at Supermicro MBD-X12DPG-OA6 . Rated high severity (CVSS 7.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A security issue in the firmware image verification implementation at Supermicro MBD-X12DPG-OA6. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Memory corruption while processing IOCTL from user space to handle GPU AHB bus error. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Memory corruption while Invoking IOCTL calls from user-space to validate FIPS encryption or decryption functionality. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Memory corruption during management frame processing due to mismatch in T2LM info element. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Information disclosure while parsing the OCI IE with invalid length. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Memory corruption while reading CPU state data during guest VM suspend. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Memory corruption while power-up or power-down sequence of the camera sensor. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Memory corruption can occur in the camera when an invalid CID is used. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Memory corruption in Camera due to unusually high number of nodes passed to AXI port. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Memory corruption can occur when a compat IOCTL call is followed by a normal IOCTL call from userspace. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Memory corruption while validating number of devices in Camera kernel . Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Memory corruption may occour while generating test pattern due to negative indexing of display ID. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Memory corruption may occour occur when stopping the WLAN interface after processing a WMI command from the interface. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Use After Free vulnerability could allow attackers to access freed memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application.
Memory corruption while parsing the ML IE due to invalid frame content. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Memory corruption while handling IOCTL call from user-space to set latency level. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Memory corruption while taking a snapshot with hardware encoder due to unvalidated userspace buffer. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Memory corruption while configuring a Hypervisor based input virtual device. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Memory corruption while parsing the memory map info in IOCTL calls. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Information disclosure while processing IO control commands. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.1), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Information disclosure during audio playback. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.1), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Information disclosure while processing information on firmware image during core initialization. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.1), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Memory corruption while processing frame packets. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.6), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Memory corruption while invoking IOCTL calls from user-space to kernel-space to handle session errors. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.6), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Use After Free vulnerability could allow attackers to access freed memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application.
Memory corruption while registering a buffer from user-space to kernel-space using IOCTL calls. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.6), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Use After Free vulnerability could allow attackers to access freed memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application.
Transient DOS when registration accept OTA is received with incorrect ciphering key data IE in modem. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
nDPI through 4.12 has a potential stack-based buffer overflow in ndpi_address_cache_restore in lib/ndpi_cache.c. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is no authentication required.
In DA, there is a possible out of bounds read due to a missing bounds check. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.9), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In DA, there is a possible out of bounds write due to a missing bounds check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.6), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In DA, there is a possible out of bounds write due to a missing bounds check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.6), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In DA, there is a possible out of bounds read due to a missing bounds check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In DA, there is a possible out of bounds write due to a missing bounds check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.6), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In secmem, there is a possible out of bounds write due to a missing bounds check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In V6 DA, there is a possible out of bounds write due to a missing bounds check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.6), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In Modem, there is a possible out of bounds write due to a missing bounds check. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In wlan AP driver, there is a possible out of bounds write due to an incorrect bounds check. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In wlan AP driver, there is a possible out of bounds write due to an incorrect bounds check. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.