Process crash via uninserted WebSocket session removal
Published Aug 20, 2026 · Updated Aug 25, 2026
NULL pointer dereference in Libevent before 2.2.2-alpha allows local users to crash a host process through the WebSocket API. The evws_new_session error path calls evws_connection_free after locking fails, and TAILQ_REMOVE dereferences list pointers for a session never inserted into ws_sessions. Triggering the crash requires a local caller to induce an allocation or locking failure; the reachable impact is process termination, while the reported use-after-free is not reachable.
Summary
What happened
NULL pointer dereference in Libevent before 2.2.2-alpha allows local users to crash a host process through the WebSocket API. The evws_new_session error path calls evws_connection_free after locking fails, and TAILQ_REMOVE dereferences list pointers for a session never inserted into ws_sessions. Triggering the crash requires a local caller to induce an allocation or locking failure; the reachable impact is process termination, while the reported use-after-free is not reachable.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-63380
- Published
- Aug 20, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 25, 2026
- Vendor
- Libevent
- Product
- Libevent
- Classifications
- CWE-476, CWE-416, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 20, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 25, 2026Record 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.
- Affected versionversion=< 2.2.2-alpha
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- ws_early_free regression proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
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