CVE-2015-4041Public exploit

Application crash via undersized multibyte conversion buffer

Published Jan 24, 2020 · Updated Aug 6, 2024

Heap-buffer overflow in GNU Coreutils sort through 8.23 on 64-bit platforms allows local users to crash the process via UTF-8 input. The keycompare_mb function sizes case-conversion buffers by character count without multiplying by MB_CUR_MAX, so wctomb() can write past the heap allocation when a character expands. The path requires a distribution carrying the i18n patch, a multibyte locale, case-insensitive sorting, and attacker-controlled input; the published trigger demonstrates a process crash, while broader impact remains unspecified.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.52%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Heap-buffer overflow in GNU Coreutils sort through 8.23 on 64-bit platforms allows local users to crash the process via UTF-8 input. The keycompare_mb function sizes case-conversion buffers by character count without multiplying by MB_CUR_MAX, so wctomb() can write past the heap allocation when a character expands. The path requires a distribution carrying the i18n patch, a multibyte locale, case-insensitive sorting, and attacker-controlled input; the published trigger demonstrates a process crash, while broader impact remains unspecified.

The record

CVE
CVE-2015-4041
Published
Jan 24, 2020
Updated
Aug 6, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-787, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 24, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 6, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.6NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-787Out-of-bounds Write
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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