Local privilege escalation via oversized exec argument copy
Published Apr 30, 2026 · Updated Apr 30, 2026
Kernel buffer overflow in FreeBSD 13.5, 14.3, 14.4, and 15.0 allows local users to obtain superuser privileges via execve(2). The exec_args_adjust_args function in sys/kern/kern_exec.c adds consume instead of subtracting it when sizing memmove, so a long shebang-script argv[0] copies beyond one exec_map argument buffer into the next. Exploitation requires an unprivileged local account and a race against another exec; a demonstrated default-install chain corrupts sshd-session environment data to load attacker-controlled code as root.
Summary
What happened
Kernel buffer overflow in FreeBSD 13.5, 14.3, 14.4, and 15.0 allows local users to obtain superuser privileges via execve(2). The exec_args_adjust_args function in sys/kern/kern_exec.c adds consume instead of subtracting it when sizing memmove, so a long shebang-script argv[0] copies beyond one exec_map argument buffer into the next. Exploitation requires an unprivileged local account and a race against another exec; a demonstrated default-install chain corrupts sshd-session environment data to load attacker-controlled code as root.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-7270
- Published
- Apr 30, 2026
- Updated
- Apr 30, 2026
- Vendor
- The FreeBSD Project
- Product
- FreeBSD
- Classifications
- CWE-783, T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Apr 30, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 30, 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=13.5-RELEASE <p13
- Affected versionversion=14.3-RELEASE <p12
- Affected versionversion=14.4-RELEASE <p3
- Affected versionversion=15.0-RELEASE <p7
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
- Calif FreeBSD exec_args_adjust_args local privilege-escalation exploitfunctional · 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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