Heap overflow via unchecked reservation sizing
Published Aug 20, 2026 · Updated Aug 20, 2026
Heap buffer overflow in MessagePack msgpack-c 7.0.1 and earlier allows attackers to corrupt memory via oversized reserve requests. The msgpack_unpacker_expand_buffer function adds the requested size to the used count without an overflow check, so wraparound can satisfy the growth-loop condition early, reallocate a too-small buffer, and return success through msgpack_unpacker_reserve_buffer. Reachability depends on an integration that passes an attacker-influenced length into that public reservation API and then writes the requested length, matching the shipped reserve-then-write example whose capacity assert is removed under NDEBUG.
Summary
What happened
Heap buffer overflow in MessagePack msgpack-c 7.0.1 and earlier allows attackers to corrupt memory via oversized reserve requests. The msgpack_unpacker_expand_buffer function adds the requested size to the used count without an overflow check, so wraparound can satisfy the growth-loop condition early, reallocate a too-small buffer, and return success through msgpack_unpacker_reserve_buffer. Reachability depends on an integration that passes an attacker-influenced length into that public reservation API and then writes the requested length, matching the shipped reserve-then-write example whose capacity assert is removed under NDEBUG.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-72854
- Published
- Aug 20, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 20, 2026
- Vendor
- MessagePack-CSharp
- Product
- msgpack-c
- Classifications
- CWE-190, CWE-787
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 20, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 20, 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=0 <=7.0.1
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
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.
Public exploit references
- GitHub Issue #1181 reproducerproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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