CVE-2020-8231: Due to use of a dangling pointer, libcurl 7.29.0 through 7.71.1 can use the wrong connection when sending data.

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

• debian debian linux10.0
• haxx libcurl7.29.0 and later · up to 7.71.1 inclusive
• oracle communications cloud native core policy1.14.0
• siemens sinec infrastructure network servicesbefore 1.0.1.1
• splunk universal forwarder8.2.0 and later · before 8.2.12
• splunk universal forwarder9.0.0 and later · before 9.0.6
• splunk universal forwarder9.1.0

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (hackerone). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

• n/a https://github.com/curl/curl

  • libcurl 7.29.0 to and including 7.71.1affected

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

• CVE-2023-38545This flaw makes curl overflow a heap based buffer in the SOCKS5 proxy handshake.
  63This week
• CVE-2019-5436A heap buffer overflow in the TFTP receiving code allows for DoS or arbitrary code execution in libcurl versions 7.19.4 through 7.64.1.
  46Plan
• CVE-2019-3822libcurl versions from 7.36.0 to before 7.64.0 are vulnerable to a stack-based buffer overflow.
  43Plan

Published before and after this one in the same product

• ← EarlierCVE-2018-16890Feb 6, 2019 · libcurl versions from 7.36.0 to before 7.64.0 is vulnerable to a heap buffer out-of-bounds read.
  32Monitor
• ← EarlierCVE-2019-3823Feb 6, 2019 · libcurl versions from 7.34.0 to before 7.64.0 are vulnerable to a heap out-of-bounds read in the code handling the end-of-response for SMTP.
  31Monitor
• Later →CVE-2020-8285Dec 14, 2020 · curl 7.21.0 to and including 7.73.0 is vulnerable to uncontrolled recursion due to a stack overflow issue in FTP wildcard match parsing.
  33Monitor

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Root cause

After a memory region is freed, another reference pointing to it is still used. By then, the same region may have been allocated for different data.

A representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.

1free(dev->buf);2/* ... another thread is still running ... */3process(dev->buf);

1lock(&dev->lock);2free(dev->buf);3dev->buf = NULL;4unlock(&dev->lock);

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.