Report · GCVE DatabaseAbout CVE-2025-6170Published 28 Sep 2026Updated 25 Oct 2026

Red Hat Security Advisory: cert-manager Operator for Red Hat OpenShift 1.20.1

Affects Red HatSource GCVE Database

Authoritative record:CVE-2025-6170· Low 2.5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 2.5 Low : upgrade to 10.2 or 8.10.6 when convenient.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS base score

2.5Low

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 25% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 10.2, 8.10.6

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 16 Jun 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-25.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

ghsa-6qrf-r65h-2r77

What to do

Upgrade gnome/libxml2 to 10.2 or 8.10.6.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 10	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Extended Update Support Long-Life Add-On	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Telecommunications Update Service	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Update Services for SAP Solutions	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 9	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2 Update Services for SAP Solutions	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4 Update Services for SAP Solutions	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 9.6 Extended Update Support	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatCert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.17	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatCert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.17	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatCert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.17	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatCert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.17	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatCert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.17	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatCert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.18	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatCert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.18	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatCert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.18	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatCert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.18	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatCert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.18	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatCert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.20	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatCert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.20	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatCert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.20	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatCert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.20	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatCert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.20	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatCert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.20	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatCert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.20	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatCert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.20	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat AI Inference Server 3.2	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat AI Inference Server 3.2	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat AI Inference Server 3.2	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat AI Inference Server 3.5	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat AI Inference Server 3.5	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat AI Inference Server 3.5	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat AI Inference Server 3.5	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat AI Inference Server 3.5	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat AI Inference Server 3.5	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat Discovery 2	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat Discovery 2	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat Hardened Images	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat Insights proxy 1.5	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.0	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.0	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.0	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.0	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.0	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.2	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.2	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.2	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.2	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.2	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.2	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.3	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.3	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.3	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.3	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.3	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.3	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.3	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.3	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.4	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.4	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.4	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.4	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.4	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.4	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.4	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.4	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.4	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.5	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.5	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.5	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.5	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.5	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.5	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.5	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.5	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat Update Infrastructure 5	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat Update Infrastructure 5	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat Update Infrastructure 5	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat Update Infrastructure 5	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat Update Infrastructure 5	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat Update Infrastructure 5	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat Update Infrastructure 5	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat Update Infrastructure 5	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 6	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 7	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat JBoss Core Services	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4	Affected–	Fixed in–
GitHubgnome/libxml2`pkg:github/gnome/libxml2`Other threats	Affected =0 >=8.0.0 <8.10.6 >=10.0.0 <10.2	Fixed in 8.10.6 10.2

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

A security update is available from Red Hat that addresses this vulnerability by updating the libxml2 package. Users should apply the official Red Hat update as detailed in the advisory (RHSA-2026:36734) to remediate this issue. No additional mitigation steps are required beyond applying the vendor-provided patch.

Description

A stack buffer overflow vulnerability (CVE-2025-6170) exists in the libxml2 library's xmllint interactive shell command handling on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 and related products. Red Hat has rated the security impact as low. A security update is available that addresses this vulnerability by updating the libxml2 package. No known exploits are reported in the wild.

CWE-121Stack-based Buffer Overflow (opens in a new tab)
Variant weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #14
A stack-based buffer overflow condition is a condition where the buffer being overwritten is allocated on the stack (i.e., is a local variable or, rarely, a parameter to a function).
Operation · Build and Compilation · Environment Hardening
Use automatic buffer overflow detection mechanisms that are offered by certain compilers or compiler extensions. Examples include: the Microsoft Visual Studio /GS flag, Fedora/Red Hat FORTIFY_SOURCE GCC flag, StackGuard, and ProPolice, which provide various mechanisms including canary-based detection and range/index…
Architecture and Design
Use an abstraction library to abstract away risky APIs. Not a complete solution.
Implementation
Implement and perform bounds checking on input.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-303Incorrect Implementation of Authentication Algorithm (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A07:2025: Authentication Failures (opens in a new tab)
The requirements for the product dictate the use of an established authentication algorithm, but the implementation of the algorithm is incorrect.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
OWASP Authentication (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V2.8.5 (opens in a new tab)
V2.8.4 (opens in a new tab)
V9.2.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Reflection Attack in Authentication Protocol (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-201Insertion of Sensitive Information Into Sent Data (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The code transmits data to another actor, but a portion of the data includes sensitive information that should not be accessible to that actor.
Requirements
Specify which data in the software should be regarded as sensitive. Consider which types of users should have access to which types of data.
Implementation
Ensure that any possibly sensitive data specified in the requirements is verified with designers to ensure that it is either a calculated risk or mitigated elsewhere.
System Configuration
Setup default error messages so that unexpected errors do not disclose sensitive information.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Error Handling (opens in a new tab)
Logging (opens in a new tab)
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.3.4 (opens in a new tab)
V14.3.3 (opens in a new tab)
V7.3.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Choosing Message Identifier (opens in a new tab)
Exploiting Incorrectly Configured SSL/TLS (opens in a new tab)
WiFi MAC Address Tracking (opens in a new tab)
WiFi SSID Tracking (opens in a new tab)
Cellular Broadcast Message Request (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-120Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input ('Classic Buffer Overflow') (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #11
The product copies an input buffer to an output buffer without verifying that the size of the input buffer is less than the size of the output buffer.
Requirements · Language Selection
Use a language that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
Operation · Build and Compilation · Environment Hardening
Use automatic buffer overflow detection mechanisms that are offered by certain compilers or compiler extensions. Examples include: the Microsoft Visual Studio /GS flag, Fedora/Red Hat FORTIFY_SOURCE GCC flag, StackGuard, and ProPolice, which provide various mechanisms including canary-based detection and range/index…
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Docker Security (opens in a new tab)
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V5.4.1 (opens in a new tab)
V14.1.2 (opens in a new tab)
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Buffer Overflow via Environment Variables (opens in a new tab)
Overflow Buffers (opens in a new tab)
Client-side Injection-induced Buffer Overflow (opens in a new tab)
Filter Failure through Buffer Overflow (opens in a new tab)
MIME Conversion (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-125Out-of-bounds Read (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessCWE Top 25 (2025): #8
The product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.
Implementation · Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
Architecture and Design · Language Selection
Use a language that provides appropriate memory abstractions.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Overread Buffers (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-1284Improper Validation of Specified Quantity in Input (opens in a new tab)
Base weakness
The product receives input that is expected to specify a quantity (such as size or length), but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the quantity has the required properties.
Implementation · Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-416Use After Free (opens in a new tab)
Variant weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #7
The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.
Architecture and Design · Language Selection
Choose a language that provides automatic memory management.
Implementation · Attack Surface Reduction
When freeing pointers, be sure to set them to NULL once they are freed. However, the utilization of multiple or complex data structures may lower the usefulness of this strategy.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-295Improper Certificate Validation (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A07:2025: Authentication Failures (opens in a new tab)
The product does not validate, or incorrectly validates, a certificate.
Architecture and Design · Implementation
Certificates should be carefully managed and checked to assure that data are encrypted with the intended owner's public key.
Implementation
If certificate pinning is being used, ensure that all relevant properties of the certificate are fully validated before the certificate is pinned, including the hostname.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Transport Layer Protection (opens in a new tab)
TLS Cipher String (opens in a new tab)
OWASP Authentication (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V9.2.1 (opens in a new tab)
V1.9.2 (opens in a new tab)
V2.8.5 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Creating a Rogue Certification Authority Certificate (opens in a new tab)
Signature Spoofing by Improper Validation (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-305Authentication Bypass by Primary Weakness (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A07:2025: Authentication Failures (opens in a new tab)
The authentication algorithm is sound, but the implemented mechanism can be bypassed as the result of a separate weakness that is primary to the authentication error.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
OWASP Authentication (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V2.8.5 (opens in a new tab)
V2.8.4 (opens in a new tab)
V9.2.3 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-347Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A04:2025: Cryptographic Failures (opens in a new tab)
The product does not verify, or incorrectly verifies, the cryptographic signature for data.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
REST Security (opens in a new tab)
JSON Web Token for Java (opens in a new tab)
REST Assessment (opens in a new tab)
Cross-Site Request Forgery Prevention (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.2 (opens in a new tab)
V3.5.3 (opens in a new tab)
V13.2.6 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Padding Oracle Crypto Attack (opens in a new tab)
Signature Spoofing by Improper Validation (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-191Integer Underflow (Wrap or Wraparound) (opens in a new tab)
Base weakness
The product subtracts one value from another, such that the result is less than the minimum allowable integer value, which produces a value that is not equal to the correct result.
CWE-674Uncontrolled Recursion (opens in a new tab)
Class weakness
The product does not properly control the amount of recursion that takes place, consuming excessive resources, such as allocated memory or the program stack.
Implementation
Ensure that an end condition will be reached under all logic conditions. The end condition may include checking against the depth of recursion and exiting with an error if the recursion goes too deep. The complexity of the end condition contributes to the effectiveness of this action.
Implementation
Increase the stack size.
Attack patterns
Serialized Data with Nested Payloads (opens in a new tab)
Oversized Serialized Data Payloads (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-415Double Free (opens in a new tab)
Variant weaknessLikelihood of exploit: High
The product calls free() twice on the same memory address.
Architecture and Design
Choose a language that provides automatic memory management.
Implementation
Ensure that each allocation is freed only once. After freeing a chunk, set the pointer to NULL to ensure the pointer cannot be freed again. In complicated error conditions, be sure that clean-up routines respect the state of allocation properly.
Implementation
Use a static analysis tool to find double free instances.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-770Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #25
The product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any intended restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated.
Requirements
Clearly specify the minimum and maximum expectations for capabilities, and dictate which behaviors are acceptable when resource allocation reaches limits.
Architecture and Design
Limit the amount of resources that are accessible to unprivileged users. Set per-user limits for resources. Allow the system administrator to define these limits. Be careful to avoid CWE-410.
Architecture and Design
Design throttling mechanisms into the system architecture. The best protection is to limit the amount of resources that an unauthorized user can cause to be expended.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Abuse Case (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V13.4.1 (opens in a new tab)
V11.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
XML Ping of the Death (opens in a new tab)
Exponential Data Expansion (opens in a new tab)
Serialized Data Parameter Blowup (opens in a new tab)
Serialized Data with Nested Payloads (opens in a new tab)
Oversized Serialized Data Payloads (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-476NULL Pointer Dereference (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: MediumCWE Top 25 (2025): #13OWASP Top 10 A10:2025: Mishandling of Exceptional Conditions (opens in a new tab)
The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.
Implementation
For any pointers that could have been modified or provided from a function that can return NULL, check the pointer for NULL before use. When working with a multithreaded or otherwise asynchronous environment, ensure that proper locking APIs are used to lock before the check, and unlock when it has finished.
Requirements
Select a programming language that is not susceptible to these issues.
Implementation
Check the results of all functions that return a value and verify that the value is non-null before acting upon it.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Logging (opens in a new tab)
Error Handling (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V11.1.7 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-122Heap-based Buffer Overflow (opens in a new tab)
Variant weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #16
A heap overflow condition is a buffer overflow, where the buffer that can be overwritten is allocated in the heap portion of memory, generally meaning that the buffer was allocated using a routine such as malloc().
Pre-design: Use a language or compiler that performs automatic bounds checking.
Architecture and Design
Use an abstraction library to abstract away risky APIs. Not a complete solution.
Operation · Build and Compilation · Environment Hardening
Use automatic buffer overflow detection mechanisms that are offered by certain compilers or compiler extensions. Examples include: the Microsoft Visual Studio /GS flag, Fedora/Red Hat FORTIFY_SOURCE GCC flag, StackGuard, and ProPolice, which provide various mechanisms including canary-based detection and range/index…
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Forced Integer Overflow (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-131Incorrect Calculation of Buffer Size (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: High
The product does not correctly calculate the size to be used when allocating a buffer, which could lead to a buffer overflow.
Implementation
When allocating a buffer for the purpose of transforming, converting, or encoding an input, allocate enough memory to handle the largest possible encoding. For example, in a routine that converts "&" characters to "&" for HTML entity encoding, the output buffer needs to be at least 5 times as large as the input…
Implementation
Understand the programming language's underlying representation and how it interacts with numeric calculation (CWE-681). Pay close attention to byte size discrepancies, precision, signed/unsigned distinctions, truncation, conversion and casting between types, "not-a-number" calculations, and how the language handles…
Implementation · Input Validation
Perform input validation on any numeric input by ensuring that it is within the expected range. Enforce that the input meets both the minimum and maximum requirements for the expected range.
Attack patterns
Overflow Buffers (opens in a new tab)
Buffer Overflow via Parameter Expansion (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-787Out-of-bounds Write (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #5
The product writes data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.
Requirements · Language Selection
Use a language that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
Operation · Build and Compilation · Environment Hardening
Use automatic buffer overflow detection mechanisms that are offered by certain compilers or compiler extensions. Examples include: the Microsoft Visual Studio /GS flag, Fedora/Red Hat FORTIFY_SOURCE GCC flag, StackGuard, and ProPolice, which provide various mechanisms including canary-based detection and range/index…
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-59Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following') (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: MediumOWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.
Architecture and Design · Separation of Privilege
Follow the principle of least privilege when assigning access rights to entities in a software system.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Symlink Attack (opens in a new tab)
Using Malicious Files (opens in a new tab)
Leverage Executable Code in Non-Executable Files (opens in a new tab)
Manipulating Web Input to File System Calls (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-367Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: Medium
The product checks the state of a resource before using that resource, but the resource's state can change between the check and the use in a way that invalidates the results of the check.
Implementation
The most basic advice for TOCTOU vulnerabilities is to not perform a check before the use. This does not resolve the underlying issue of the execution of a function on a resource whose state and identity cannot be assured, but it does help to limit the false sense of security given by the check.
Implementation
When the file being altered is owned by the current user and group, set the effective gid and uid to that of the current user and group when executing this statement.
Architecture and Design
Limit the interleaving of operations on files from multiple processes.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Abuse Case (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V1.11.3 (opens in a new tab)
V11.1.6 (opens in a new tab)
V1.11.2 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Leveraging Race Conditions via Symbolic Links (opens in a new tab)
Leveraging Time-of-Check and Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) Race Conditions (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-405Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-835Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-346Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-126Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-193Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-22Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-444Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-134Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-825Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-190Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-763Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-805Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-192Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-669Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-551Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-426Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-538Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-78Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-409Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-140Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-94Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-208Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-1322Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-77Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-617Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-209Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-1333Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-918Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-606Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-93Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-319Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-408Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-248Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-1286Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-66Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-358Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-911Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-79Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-502Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CWE-470Name not in the CWE catalogue (opens in a new tab)

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 20 Oct 2026, 22:49 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-121, CWE-303, CWE-201 +57

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats