CVE-2026-90556: Freeciv before 3.2.6 Heap Buffer Overflow via worklist_load
Noroxi assessment
Priority: Monitor (action score 34/100)
- The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
- Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.20% (FIRST EPSS).
- Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. No account or password is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
- Fixed version: freeciv freeciv 3.2.6.
Low priority for now. Upgrade to freeciv freeciv 3.2.6 or later.
Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it
Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS
Freeciv versions before 3.2.6 contain a heap buffer overflow in worklist_load() when processing savegame files with declared worklist lengths exceeding the fixed array bound of 64 elements. Attackers can craft malicious savegame files that write past the entries array into adjacent heap-allocated struct fields, potentially corrupting memory when a user or server operator loads the file.
- Published
- Sep 12, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 23, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.2% · 10th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-122
Report tools
Action score
34
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 34 / 40 · 8.5 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 0.2%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- none
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- total
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
CNA vs NVD score
- NVD
- —
- CNA · VulnCheck
- 8.5
- NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.
Get told when this record changes
- Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
- No public exploit code on record
- A fix has been released
If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.
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Noroxi analysis
What does it mean in your environment?
The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.
We use this product, ask for helpAffected systems
Is your version affected?
Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.
—
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (VulnCheck). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
freeciv freeciv
- before 3.2.6affected · semver
Package-level exposure
OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:12 | freeciv | from 0 | — |
| Debian:14 | freeciv | before 3.2.6+ds-1 | 3.2.6+ds-1 |
Same product
freeciv: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2010-2445freeciv 2.2 before 2.2.1 and 2.3 before 2.3.0 allows attackers to read arbitrary files or execute arbitrary commands via a scenario that con41Plan
- CVE-2022-39047Freeciv before 2.6.7 and before 3.0.3 is prone to a buffer overflow vulnerability in the Modpack Installer utility's handling of the modpack35Monitor
- CVE-2012-6083Freeciv before 2.3.3 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via a crafted packet.34Monitor
Published before and after this one in the same product
- ← EarlierCVE-2006-3913Jul 27, 2006 · Buffer overflow in Freeciv 2.1.0-beta1 and earlier, and SVN 15 Jul 2006 and earlier, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (c32Monitor
- ← EarlierCVE-2012-5645Dec 30, 2019 · A denial of service flaw was found in the way the server component of Freeciv before 2.3.4 processed certain packets.31Monitor
- Later →CVE-2026-90557Sep 12, 2026 · Freeciv 3.1.0 through 3.2.5 Out-of-Bounds Read via Savegame27Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| freeciv freeciv | 3.2.6 | Vendor (CNA) |
| debian:freeciv | 3.2.6+ds-1 · Debian:14 | Package registry (OSV) |
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
No dated events beyond publication.
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
- Tristan Madanifinder
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
- No account or password is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- Integrity
- Availability
- Attack vector
- Local
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- P
- Scope
- X
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-122 · Heap-based Buffer OverflowCVSS vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/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
nvd-secondary
Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
ATT&CK techniques
—
Change log
- Fix✗ → ✓
For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →
References
Show all references (6 more)Show less
- github.com/freeciv/freeciv/blob/R3_2_5/server/savegame/savegame2.c#L788
- github.com/freeciv/freeciv/blob/R3_2_5/server/savegame/savegame3.c#L964
- github.com/freeciv/freeciv/commit/75ecde3e86ddf2fe775768450e9a290a4f4d4387
- github.com/freeciv/freeciv/releases/tag/R3_2_6
- redmine.freeciv.org/issues/2161
- www.vulncheck.com/advisories/freeciv-before-3.2.6-heap-buffer-overflow-via-worklist-load
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.