CVE-2026-77372
Received Received - Intake

Heap Overflow in VeraCrypt Disk Encryption

Vulnerability report for CVE-2026-77372, including description, CVSS score, EPSS score, affected products, exploitability, helpful resources, and attack-flow context.

Publication date: 2026-11-04

Last updated on: 2026-11-04

Assigner: GitHub, Inc.

Description

VeraCrypt provides disk encryption with strong security based on TrueCrypt. Prior to 1.26.30, the Unix, macOS, and FreeBSD serialization paths in src/Platform/Serializer.cpp and src/Volume/VolumePassword.cpp accept untrusted length and count values when deserializing data that can cross from the unprivileged GUI or CLI to the root CoreService helper. Serializer::DeserializeWString allocates floor(size / sizeof(wchar_t)) elements but reads size bytes, so a non-aligned size can overflow the heap allocation. VolumePassword::Deserialize accepts PasswordSize values larger than the fixed 128-byte PasswordBuffer, allowing downstream DataPtr() and Size() consumers such as the KDF to read beyond the buffer. DeserializeString, DeserializeWString, and the string and wide-string list readers also lack allocation and collection bounds, which can exhaust memory, and a zero-length DeserializeString can access an empty vector. Windows uses a different path, and the immediate CoreService pipe writer is the same-user parent process, so the documented exposure is a local defense-in-depth boundary rather than a remote attack. This issue is fixed in 1.26.30.

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

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
veracrypt VeraCrypt < 1.26.30

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE
CWE Icon
KEV
KEV Icon
CWE ID Description
CWE-125 The product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.
CWE-787 The product writes data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.

Attack-Flow Graph

AI Quick Actions

Instant insights powered by AI
Executive Summary

This vulnerability in VeraCrypt versions before 1.26.30 involves improper handling of untrusted input during data deserialization in Unix, macOS, and FreeBSD systems. Specifically, functions like Serializer::DeserializeWString and VolumePassword::Deserialize fail to validate length and count values, leading to heap overflows and buffer over-reads. This occurs when data moves from the unprivileged GUI or CLI to the root CoreService helper.

Impact Analysis

An attacker with local access could exploit this to execute arbitrary code, escalate privileges, or cause denial-of-service conditions on affected systems. The vulnerability allows reading or writing beyond allocated memory, potentially compromising the integrity and confidentiality of encrypted data.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability could lead to unauthorized access or exposure of sensitive data, violating compliance requirements such as GDPR (data protection) and HIPAA (health information privacy). Organizations using vulnerable VeraCrypt versions may face regulatory penalties and reputational damage.

Mitigation Strategies

Upgrade VeraCrypt to version 1.26.30 or later to address the heap overflow and memory exhaustion issues in the Unix, macOS, and FreeBSD serialization paths.

Chat Assistant

Ask questions about this CVE
Hi! I’m here to help you understand CVE-2026-77372. 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...