7.8
HIGH CVSS 4.0
CVE-2026-72852
darknet Integer Overflow in Convolutional Layer Buffer Sizing Leads to Heap Buffer Overflow
Description

hank-ai/darknet sizes a convolutional layer's weight and output heap buffers by multiplying configuration fields taken from a .cfg file in unchecked 32-bit int arithmetic. In src-lib/convolutional_layer.cpp, l.nweights is computed as (c / groups) * n * size * size and l.outputs as l.out_h * l.out_w * l.out_c, and both feed xcalloc directly. A .cfg whose true dimension product exceeds INT_MAX wraps to a small or zero value, so the allocation is undersized; for example width and height of 256 with filters of 65536 gives 2^32, which wraps to 0. forward_convolutional_layer then re-derives the GEMM dimensions with a different operand order, computing k as l.size*l.size*l.c / l.groups where the allocation divided before multiplying, and reads and writes through the undersized buffer. Loading the crafted .cfg for inference or training is sufficient and no valid .weights file is required. The reported proof of concept observed a heap buffer overflow read in gemm_nn_fast under AddressSanitizer and glibc allocator metadata corruption in a release build of the same input, indicating an out-of-bounds write.

INFO

Published Date :

Aug. 20, 2026, 7:17 p.m.

Last Modified :

Aug. 20, 2026, 7:17 p.m.

Remotely Exploit :

No
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2026-72852 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

No affected product recoded yet

CVSS Scores
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardized framework for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems. We collect and displays CVSS scores from various sources for each CVE.
Score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Score Impact Score Source
CVSS 3.1 HIGH 83251b91-4cc7-4094-a5c7-464a1b83ea10
CVSS 3.1 HIGH [email protected]
CVSS 3.1 HIGH MITRE-CVE
CVSS 4.0 HIGH 83251b91-4cc7-4094-a5c7-464a1b83ea10
CVSS 4.0 HIGH [email protected]
Solution
Address integer overflow in buffer size calculation and ensure proper memory allocation.
  • Perform calculations using 64-bit integers for buffer sizes.
  • Validate configuration values before memory allocation.
  • Update the software to the latest version.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-72852 is associated with the following CWEs:

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-72852 weaknesses.

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2026-72852 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2026-72852 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • New CVE Received by [email protected]

    Aug. 20, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Affected [{'repo': 'https://github.com/hank-ai/darknet', 'vendor': 'hank-ai', 'product': 'darknet', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '0', 'versionType': 'custom', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.0'}], 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}]
    Added Description hank-ai/darknet sizes a convolutional layer's weight and output heap buffers by multiplying configuration fields taken from a .cfg file in unchecked 32-bit int arithmetic. In src-lib/convolutional_layer.cpp, l.nweights is computed as (c / groups) * n * size * size and l.outputs as l.out_h * l.out_w * l.out_c, and both feed xcalloc directly. A .cfg whose true dimension product exceeds INT_MAX wraps to a small or zero value, so the allocation is undersized; for example width and height of 256 with filters of 65536 gives 2^32, which wraps to 0. forward_convolutional_layer then re-derives the GEMM dimensions with a different operand order, computing k as l.size*l.size*l.c / l.groups where the allocation divided before multiplying, and reads and writes through the undersized buffer. Loading the crafted .cfg for inference or training is sufficient and no valid .weights file is required. The reported proof of concept observed a heap buffer overflow read in gemm_nn_fast under AddressSanitizer and glibc allocator metadata corruption in a release build of the same input, indicating an out-of-bounds write.
    Added CVSS V4.0 AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
    Added CVSS V3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
    Added CWE CWE-787
    Added CWE CWE-190
    Added Reference https://github.com/hank-ai/darknet
    Added Reference https://github.com/hank-ai/darknet/blob/v6.0/src-lib/convolutional_layer.cpp#L1457
    Added Reference https://github.com/hank-ai/darknet/blob/v6.0/src-lib/convolutional_layer.cpp#L764
    Added Reference https://github.com/hank-ai/darknet/blob/v6.0/src-lib/convolutional_layer.cpp#L811
    Added Reference https://github.com/hank-ai/darknet/issues/148
    Added Reference https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/darknet-integer-overflow-in-convolutional-layer-buffer-sizing-leads-to-heap-buffer-overflow
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.