CVE-2016-20040
Received Received - Intake
Buffer Overflow in TiEmu ROM Parameter Enables Code Execution

Publication date: 2026-03-28

Last updated on: 2026-03-28

Assigner: VulnCheck

Description
TiEmu 3.03-nogdb+dfsg-3 contains a buffer overflow vulnerability in the ROM parameter handling that allows local attackers to crash the application or execute arbitrary code. Attackers can supply an oversized ROM parameter to the tiemu command-line interface to overflow the stack buffer and overwrite the instruction pointer with malicious addresses.
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Meta Information
Published
2026-03-28
Last Modified
2026-03-28
Generated
2026-06-16
AI Q&A
2026-03-28
EPSS Evaluated
2026-06-14
NVD
CVE-2016-20040
EUVD
EUVD-2016-10835
Affected Vendors & Products
Currently, no data is known.
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-22 The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.
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Executive Summary

CVE-2016-20040 is a buffer overflow vulnerability in TiEmu version 3.03-nogdb+dfsg-3, an emulator for Texas Instruments calculators. The flaw occurs in the handling of the ROM parameter passed via the command-line interface. When a local attacker supplies an oversized ROM parameter, it causes a stack buffer overflow that overwrites the instruction pointer.

This overflow can crash the application or allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the user running TiEmu.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can have serious impacts including crashing the TiEmu application or enabling an attacker to execute arbitrary code locally on your system.

  • Application crash leading to denial of service.
  • Execution of arbitrary code, potentially allowing an attacker to gain control over the affected system.
  • High impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the system running TiEmu.
Detection Guidance

This vulnerability can be detected by attempting to run the TiEmu 3.03-nogdb+dfsg-3 emulator with an oversized ROM parameter to see if it crashes or exhibits abnormal behavior.

A practical detection method is to execute the tiemu binary with a long string as the ROM parameter, for example using a command like:

  • tiemu -rom=$(python3 -c 'print("A"*80)')

If the application crashes with a segmentation fault or similar error, it indicates the presence of the buffer overflow vulnerability.

Mitigation Strategies

Immediate mitigation steps include avoiding running the vulnerable TiEmu 3.03-nogdb+dfsg-3 version or restricting local access to the application to trusted users only.

Since the vulnerability requires local access and is triggered by a crafted command-line argument, controlling who can execute the tiemu binary is critical.

Additionally, monitoring for unusual crashes or suspicious command-line usage of tiemu can help detect exploitation attempts.

Ultimately, applying patches or upgrading to a fixed version of TiEmu when available is recommended to fully remediate the issue.

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