CVE-2026-121968

Received Received - Intake

Out-of-Bounds Read in Netrek-client-cow

Publication date: 2026-11-04

Last updated on: 2026-11-04

Assigner: VulnCheck

Description

Netrek-client-cow through 3.3.3 contains an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in short.c handleSMessage() that allows malicious servers to crash clients via an unchecked m_recpt index. Attackers controlling a Netrek server or intercepting the plaintext TCP connection can send SP_S_MESSAGE packets with m_recpt of 36 or more, reading past players[] and shipnos to deny service.

CVSS Scores

EPSS Scores

Probability:
Percentile:

Meta Information

Published

2026-11-04

Last Modified

2026-11-04

Generated

2026-11-05

AI Q&A

2026-11-05

EPSS Evaluated

N/A

NVD

CVE-2026-121968

EUVD

EUVD-2026-117079

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
quozl	netrek-client-cow	0

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-129	The product uses untrusted input when calculating or using an array index, but the product does not validate or incorrectly validates the index to ensure the index references a valid position within the array.

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

Netrek-client-cow through version 3.3.3 has an out-of-bounds read flaw in the handleSMessage() function within short.c. Attackers controlling a server or intercepting the plaintext TCP connection can send specially crafted SP_S_MESSAGE packets with an m_recpt index of 36 or higher. This causes the program to read past the players[] array and shipnos, potentially crashing the client and causing a denial of service.

Detection Guidance

To detect this vulnerability, monitor for crashes in netrek-client-cow 3.3.3 when connecting to untrusted servers. Check logs for segmentation faults or out-of-bounds read errors in short.c. Use network traffic analysis tools like Wireshark to inspect SP_S_MESSAGE packets for m_recpt values >= 36.

Impact Analysis

If you use a vulnerable version of Netrek-client-cow, an attacker could crash your game client by sending malicious packets. This would disrupt your gameplay and prevent you from connecting to the game server. The attack requires control over the server or interception of the connection, so it is not exploitable by arbitrary remote users.

Mitigation Strategies

Upgrade netrek-client-cow to the patched version where bounds checking is added for m_recpt. Avoid connecting to untrusted Netrek servers. If using a vulnerable version, apply the commit fb322e74abee3b0b76a9c5a31df6aab5585d3127 manually.

Hi! I’m here to help you understand CVE-2026-121968. Ask me anything about the vulnerability, its impact, or mitigation strategies.

0/70

EPSS Chart

Security Radar

News mentioning this vulnerability

Loading related security news...