#VU34796 Improper Privilege Management in NetHack - CVE-2020-5253

Vulnerability identifier: #VU34796

Vulnerability risk: High

CVSSv4.0: 8.1 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Amber]

CVE-ID: CVE-2020-5253

CWE-ID: CWE-269

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
NetHack
Client/Desktop applications / Games

Vendor: The NetHack DevTeam

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote non-authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code.

NetHack before version 3.6.0 allowed malicious use of escaping of characters in the configuration file (usually .nethackrc) which could be exploited. This bug is patched in NetHack 3.6.0.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

NetHack: 3.2.3 - 3.4.3

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External links
https://github.com/NetHack/NetHack/commits/612755bfb5c412079795c68ba392df5d93874ed8
https://github.com/NetHack/NetHack/security/advisories/GHSA-2c7p-3fj4-223m

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.