#VU47700 Heap-based buffer overflow in Lua - CVE-2020-15888

Vulnerability identifier: #VU47700

Vulnerability risk: Medium

CVSSv4.0: 4.8 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Green]

CVE-ID: CVE-2020-15888

CWE-ID: CWE-122

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
Lua
Universal components / Libraries / Scripting languages

Vendor: Lua

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the target system.

The vulnerability exists due to a boundary error during interaction between stack resizes and garbage collection in ldo.c file. A remote attacker can pass specially crafted data to the application, trigger heap-based buffer overflow and execute arbitrary code on the target system.

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may result in complete compromise of vulnerable system.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Lua: 5.2.0 - 5.4.0

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External links
https://lua-users.org/lists/lua-l/2020-07/msg00053.html
https://lua-users.org/lists/lua-l/2020-07/msg00054.html
https://lua-users.org/lists/lua-l/2020-07/msg00071.html
https://lua-users.org/lists/lua-l/2020-07/msg00079.html
https://github.com/lua/lua/commit/6298903e35217ab69c279056f925fb72900ce0b7
https://github.com/lua/lua/commit/eb41999461b6f428186c55abd95f4ce1a76217d5

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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.