CVE-2020-5210 json
NetHack command line -w option parsing is subject to a buffer overflow
published 2020-01-28 6 y ago modified 2026-06-17 4 mo ago also EUVD-2020-26450
- cvss
- 5.0
- version 3.1, CNA
- cisa kev
- Not listed
- not in CISA's catalog
- epss
- 0.8%
- EPSS 0.8% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 56%
- public exploits
- 0
- none known
Summary
In NetHack before 3.6.5, an invalid argument to the -w command line option can cause a buffer overflow resulting in a crash or remote code execution/privilege escalation. This vulnerability affects systems that have NetHack installed suid/sgid and shared systems that allow users to influence command line options. Users should upgrade to NetHack 3.6.5.
Patch / fix
- nethack nethack 3.6.5
- nethack Debian 14, Debian 13, Debian 12 3.6.6-1
debian advisories DEBIAN-CVE-2020-5210
Vendor advisories
What the vendors themselves say about their products: affected, fixed or not affected, and what to do.
red hat product security vex CVE-2020-5210 updated cvss 5.0
nethack: command line -w option parsing is subject to a buffer overflow
-
Red Hat All currently supported Red Hat productsnot affected: vulnerable code not present
Red Hat CSAF VEX © Red Hat, Inc., from https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/; changed: reduced to product statuses and remediations. CC BY 4.0 · csaf
Exploit prediction
0.80% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 56% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).
CVSS scores
| assigned by | version | score | vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | 3.1 | 5.0 | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L |
| NVD | 3.1 | 7.8 | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| NVD | 2.0 | 4.6 | AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P |
Affected products
- NetHack NetHack
Classification
- Weakness
-
- CWE-120 Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input
References
Sources
- CVE List CVE-2020-5210
- NVD CVE-2020-5210
Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.