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TI-2026-38947 Aliases CVE-2026-53994GHSA-435f-wcrw-9x3x

ProFTPD mod_sftp Heap Buffer Overflow via Unsigned Integer Underflow and Size Truncation

Priority LOW 36CWE-122Published · Updated

Key facts

Attack vector
Network
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
High
Attack requirements
None
Impact type
Code execution
Confidentiality · integrity · availability
High · High · High
Fix status
Fixed

Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-122 and the CVSS impact.

Summary

ProFTPD mod_sftp contains a heap-based buffer overflow reachable by an authenticated SFTP user. The fxp_packet_read() function accepts the attacker-supplied 32-bit big-endian SFTP packet length without a minimum sanity check. A value of 0 causes an unsigned subtraction elsewhere in the read path to underflow to approximately 4 GB. That oversized request reaches the core memory allocator, where the rounded size is computed in size_t but passed to new_block() as a 32-bit int; the low 32 bits of 0x100000000 are 0, so new_block() returns a small (~512-byte) block while the caller is told it received ~4 GB. The subsequent fill loop then streams attacker-controlled bytes past the end of the 544-byte allocation, producing an attacker-controlled heap buffer overflow. An authenticated user can crash the per-connection ProFTPD session child on demand with a single malformed SFTP packet (packet_len=0 followed by a body greater than approximately 544 bytes), producing reliable authenticated remote denial of service. Depending on heap layout and adjacent allocations, heap metadata corruption and further consequences beyond denial of service may be possible, though only denial of service is demonstrated by the supplied proof of concept.

Why it matters now

Exploitation None reported CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.00448 39th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Fixed No fixed version in the sources yet

SSVC decision points

CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3

Exploitation
None
Automatable
No
Technical impact
Total

The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.

Affected products

No affected products listed by the sources yet.

CPE configurations NVD · 1

CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:a:proftpd:proftpd:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*before 1.3.9bVulnerableProFTPD
  • cpe:2.3:a:proftpd:proftpd:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 1.3.9b Vulnerable ·ProFTPD

Remediation

No fixed version listed by the sources yet.

Vendor assessments

Red Hat

Red Hat's page for this CVE →

Not affected: 1 product
  • Red Hat

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-53994
  2. 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-435f-wcrw-9x3x
  3. 2026-10-09 EPSS moved to the below the 50th percentile

References

Other 1

  • TI-2006-05599 Stack-based buffer overflow in the sreplace function in ProFTPD 1.3.0 and earlier allows… CVSS 2.0HIGH 10.0
  • TI-2010-05061 ProFTPD 1.3.3c Backdoor Command Execution CVSS 4.0CRITICAL 9.3
  • TI-2003-00766 ProFTPD 1.2.7 through 1.2.9rc2 does not properly translate newline characters when… CVSS 2.0HIGH 9.0
  • TI-2009-00521 SQL injection vulnerability in ProFTPD Server 1.3.1 through 1.3.2rc2 allows remote… CVSS 2.0HIGH 7.5
  • TI-1999-00861 Buffer overflow in ProFTPD, wu-ftpd, and beroftpd allows remote attackers to gain root… CVSS 2.0HIGH 10.0
  • TI-1999-00363 Buffer overflows in wuarchive ftpd (wu-ftpd) and ProFTPD lead to remote root access… CVSS 2.0HIGH 10.0
See all 24 →

Sources