CVE-2026-24793 is a critical security vulnerability classified under CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write) and CWE-120 (Classic Buffer Overflow) affecting the azerothcore-wotlk project, an open-source server emulator for World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. The flaw resides in the inflate.C source file within the zlib compression library dependency, where a buffer copy operation occurs without proper size checking. This leads to an out-of-bounds write condition, allowing attackers to overwrite adjacent memory. Because the vulnerability can be triggered remotely without any authentication or user interaction, it poses a severe risk of remote code execution (RCE). The CVSS 4.0 vector indicates network attack vector (AV:N), no privileges required (PR:N), no user interaction (UI:N), and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H). The vulnerability affects all versions of azerothcore-wotlk up to 4.0.0. Although no exploits have been observed in the wild yet, the critical severity and ease of exploitation make it a high priority for patching and mitigation. The vulnerability could allow attackers to take full control over affected servers, potentially leading to data breaches, service disruption, or use of compromised servers in further attacks.

For European organizations, especially those operating gaming servers or development environments using azerothcore-wotlk, this vulnerability presents a critical risk. Exploitation could lead to full system compromise, resulting in unauthorized access to sensitive data, disruption of gaming services, and potential lateral movement within networks. The integrity of game data and user information could be severely impacted, damaging reputation and causing financial losses. Additionally, compromised servers could be leveraged as part of botnets or for launching further attacks, amplifying the threat landscape. Given the high CVSS score and remote exploitability without authentication, the potential impact on availability and confidentiality is severe. Organizations in Europe that host or develop on azerothcore-wotlk must consider this vulnerability a top priority to avoid operational and security incidents.

1. Monitor official azerothcore repositories and security advisories for patches addressing CVE-2026-24793 and apply them immediately upon release. 2. Until patches are available, restrict network exposure of azerothcore-wotlk servers by implementing strict firewall rules limiting access to trusted IPs only. 3. Employ runtime protection mechanisms such as memory safety tools (e.g., AddressSanitizer) during development and testing to detect buffer overflows. 4. Conduct thorough input validation and sanitization on all data processed by the inflate.C module or related components to prevent malformed inputs triggering the overflow. 5. Use intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS) with updated signatures to detect exploitation attempts targeting this vulnerability. 6. Regularly audit and monitor server logs for unusual activity indicative of exploitation attempts. 7. Implement network segmentation to isolate critical gaming infrastructure and limit lateral movement in case of compromise. 8. Educate development and operations teams about secure coding practices and the risks of buffer overflows to prevent similar issues in the future.