socat versions 1.8.0.0 through 1.8.1.1 contain a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability that allows a malicious SOCKS5 proxy server to overwrite adjacent heap memory by exploiting a sign-extension flaw in the DOMAINNAME reply parser. During connection setup, the domain name length byte is read through a signed char field causing a negative bytes_to_read value that is implicitly converted to size_t, resulting in an unbounded heap write into the 262-byte reply buffer with attacker-controlled size and content.
CVSS Details
- CVSS 4.0 Base Score: 9.2 (CRITICAL)
- CVSS 4.0 Vector: (CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X)
- CVSS 3.1 Base Score: 9.8
- CVSS 3.1 Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H)
Covered by Rapid7
| Product | Vendor Advisory | Solution File | Added | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine Linux | — | Upgrade socat | Jun 26, 2026 | Jun 25, 2026 |
| Debian | — | Upgrade socat | Sep 21, 2026 | Jun 25, 2026 |
| Ubuntu | — | Upgrade socat | Jul 6, 2026 | Jun 25, 2026 |
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