CVE-2021-38172Public exploit

Local crash via unsafe myStrCpy copy

Published Feb 5, 2022 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Buffer overflow in perM 0.4.0 allows local users to crash the read mapper by processing crafted sequence input. The myStrCpy wrapper passes a caller-supplied size minus one to strncpy, which pads the destination through that bound instead of limiting the copy to its actual capacity. The vulnerable path is reached when the command-line mapper reads supplied FASTA data; the demonstrated consequence is process termination, not confirmed code execution.

CVSS severity9.8
Critical
EPSS probability1.83%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Buffer overflow in perM 0.4.0 allows local users to crash the read mapper by processing crafted sequence input. The myStrCpy wrapper passes a caller-supplied size minus one to strncpy, which pads the destination through that bound instead of limiting the copy to its actual capacity. The vulnerable path is reached when the command-line mapper reads supplied FASTA data; the demonstrated consequence is process termination, not confirmed code execution.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-38172
Published
Feb 5, 2022
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-120
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 5, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 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 privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

9.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.5NIST NVDAV:N/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
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-120Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input ('Classic Buffer Overflow')

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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