Buffer overflow in NetHack

1) Buffer overflow

EUVDB-ID: #VU31988

Risk: High

CVSSv4.0: 8.1 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Amber]

CVE-ID: CVE-2019-19905

CWE-ID: CWE-120 - Buffer overflow

Exploit availability: No

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote non-authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code.

NetHack 3.6.x before 3.6.4 is prone to a buffer overflow vulnerability when reading very long lines from configuration files. This affects systems that have NetHack installed suid/sgid, and shared systems that allow users to upload their own configuration files.

Mitigation

Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

NetHack: 3.6.0 - 3.6.3

CPE2.3

• cpe:2.3:a:the_nethack_devteam:nethack:3.6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:the_nethack_devteam:nethack:3.6.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:the_nethack_devteam:nethack:3.6.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

External links

https://bugs.debian.org/947005
https://github.com/NetHack/NetHack/commit/f001de79542b8c38b1f8e6d7eaefbbd28ab94b47
https://github.com/NetHack/NetHack/commit/f4a840a48f4bcf11757b3d859e9d53cc9d5ef226
https://github.com/NetHack/NetHack/security/advisories/GHSA-3cm7-rgh5-9pq5
https://nethack.org/security/

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

How the attacker can exploit this vulnerability?

The attacker would have to trick the victim to open a a specially crafted file.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.