CVE-2020-3810

Package-processing crash via ar member-name underflow

Published May 15, 2020 · Updated Sep 17, 2024

Out-of-bounds read in Debian APT before 2.1.2 allows local users to crash package processing with a crafted deb file. In apt-pkg/contrib/arfile.cc, name normalization decrements past offset zero when an ar member name contains only spaces or slashes, then reads beyond the stack buffer. Processing an attacker-supplied deb file is required; the bounded consequence is a package-management process crash, with no reported data disclosure or modification.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability1.31%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Out-of-bounds read in Debian APT before 2.1.2 allows local users to crash package processing with a crafted deb file. In apt-pkg/contrib/arfile.cc, name normalization decrements past offset zero when an ar member name contains only spaces or slashes, then reads beyond the stack buffer. Processing an attacker-supplied deb file is required; the bounded consequence is a package-management process crash, with no reported data disclosure or modification.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-3810
Published
May 15, 2020
Updated
Sep 17, 2024
Vendor
Debian
Product
APT
Classifications
CWE-125, CWE-20, T1204.002
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 15, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 17, 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?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=before 2.1.2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Debian · APTversion=before 2.1.2

Published CVSS scores

5.5Canonical UbuntuCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

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No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-125Out-of-bounds Read
CWE-20Improper Input Validation
T1204.002Malicious File

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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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