Buffer Overflow in Code Blocks 17.12 Enables Arbitrary Code Execution

Publication date: 2026-01-30

Last updated on: 2026-01-30

Assigner: VulnCheck

Description

Code Blocks 17.12 contains a local buffer overflow vulnerability that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code by crafting a malicious file name with Unicode characters. Attackers can trigger the vulnerability by pasting a specially crafted payload into the file name field during project creation, potentially executing system commands like calc.exe.

CVSS Scores

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Meta Information

Published

2026-01-30

Last Modified

2026-01-30

Generated

2026-07-06

AI Q&A

2026-01-31

EPSS Evaluated

2026-07-05

NVD

CVE-2020-37040

EUVD

EUVD-2020-30938

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
unknown_vendor	code_blocks	17.12

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-120	The product copies an input buffer to an output buffer without verifying that the size of the input buffer is less than the size of the output buffer.

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

This vulnerability is a local buffer overflow in Code Blocks 17.12 that occurs when an attacker crafts a malicious file name containing Unicode characters. By pasting this specially crafted payload into the file name field during project creation, the attacker can trigger the overflow and execute arbitrary code on the system.

Impact Analysis

The vulnerability can allow an attacker to execute arbitrary system commands, such as launching programs like calc.exe, which means they could potentially run any code on the affected system. This could lead to unauthorized control over the system, data compromise, or further exploitation.

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