5.3
MEDIUM CVSS 4.0
CVE-2026-83742
wstrncat() unsigned integer underflow leads to an off-by-one null write in wolfSSH on non-Windows platforms
Description

Unsigned integer underflow in wstrncat() in src/port.c in wolfSSL wolfSSH from v1.4.11 through v1.5.0 on non-Windows platforms allows an authenticated remote attacker to write one out-of-bounds null byte past the end of a stack buffer by sending a crafted SFTP path. wolfSSH_RealPath() in src/ssh.c appends each path component with a remaining-size bound (outSz - curSz) rather than the full destination size, so once the accumulated path reaches half the output buffer the size_t computation n - strlen(s1) - 1 wraps to near SIZE_MAX. The strncat() call is then effectively unbounded and copies the whole component; when that component exactly fills the remainder of the buffer, its terminating null is written one byte past the end. The caller's own length check keeps the copied data inside the buffer, so the overflow is limited to that single null byte, which may corrupt an adjacent stack value and crash the process. Applications that call the public wolfSSH_RealPath() with an output buffer smaller than the input path are additionally exposed to an unbounded copy, because the word32 expression outSz - segSz in that length check also wraps.

INFO

Published Date :

Oct. 7, 2026, 3:16 a.m.

Last Modified :

Oct. 7, 2026, 3:16 a.m.

Remotely Exploit :

Yes !
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2026-83742 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.

ID Vendor Product Action
1 Wolfssh wolfssh
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 4.0 MEDIUM 50d2cd11-d01a-48ed-9441-5bfce9d63b27
CVSS 4.0 MEDIUM [email protected]
Solution
Update wolfSSL wolfSSH to a patched version to fix an unsigned integer underflow vulnerability.
  • Update wolfSSL wolfSSH to a version after v1.5.0.
  • Ensure output buffers are larger than input paths.
  • Validate path component sizes before appending.
  • Review string concatenation size calculations.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-83742 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-2026-83742 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-2026-83742 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2026-83742 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]

    Oct. 07, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Description Unsigned integer underflow in wstrncat() in src/port.c in wolfSSL wolfSSH from v1.4.11 through v1.5.0 on non-Windows platforms allows an authenticated remote attacker to write one out-of-bounds null byte past the end of a stack buffer by sending a crafted SFTP path. wolfSSH_RealPath() in src/ssh.c appends each path component with a remaining-size bound (outSz - curSz) rather than the full destination size, so once the accumulated path reaches half the output buffer the size_t computation n - strlen(s1) - 1 wraps to near SIZE_MAX. The strncat() call is then effectively unbounded and copies the whole component; when that component exactly fills the remainder of the buffer, its terminating null is written one byte past the end. The caller's own length check keeps the copied data inside the buffer, so the overflow is limited to that single null byte, which may corrupt an adjacent stack value and crash the process. Applications that call the public wolfSSH_RealPath() with an output buffer smaller than the input path are additionally exposed to an unbounded copy, because the word32 expression outSz - segSz in that length check also wraps.
    Added CVSS V4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:L/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:N/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
    Added CWE CWE-191
    Added CWE CWE-121
    Added CWE CWE-193
    Added Affected New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/83xxx/CVE-2026-83742.json">CVE-2026-83742</a>
    Added Reference https://github.com/wolfSSL/wolfssh/commit/513e52b18927a4e3f7cf17ecaf107958e56139de
    Added Reference https://github.com/wolfSSL/wolfssh/commit/822e4464560b467580ea37a2fc03b0988d88b71f
    Added Reference https://github.com/wolfSSL/wolfssh/commit/fbc7cd88a23b59a45a584020a4c7242d9bd70f35
    Added Reference https://github.com/wolfSSL/wolfssh/pull/1084
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.