Process crash or code execution via freed memory

Use-after-free in BusyBox awk 1.16 through 1.33.1 allows attackers to crash the applet or possibly execute code via a crafted pattern. The nvalloc function reuses freed heap storage while processing attacker-controlled awk syntax, leaving subsequent operations to access invalid memory. Exploitation requires a workflow to pass an arbitrary attacker-controlled pattern to the local awk applet; the usual result is a separate-process crash, and published research has not demonstrated code execution.