CVE-2026-86098

Received Received - Intake

Heap Buffer Overflow in ntop nDPI

Publication date: 2026-09-04

Last updated on: 2026-09-04

Assigner: VulnCheck

Description

ntop nDPI versions before 6.0 contain a heap buffer overflow vulnerability in the ndpi_json_string_escape function that writes beyond caller-supplied buffer boundaries. Attackers can trigger the overflow by supplying crafted network packet data including TLS SNI, HTTP headers, or DNS names that reach the vulnerable function, causing heap corruption.

CVSS Scores

EPSS Scores

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Meta Information

Published

2026-09-04

Last Modified

2026-09-04

Generated

2026-09-05

AI Q&A

2026-09-05

EPSS Evaluated

N/A

NVD

CVE-2026-86098

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
ntop	ndpi	to 6.0 (exc)

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

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

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

ntop nDPI versions before 6.0 have a heap buffer overflow in the ndpi_json_string_escape function. This flaw allows attackers to write beyond the buffer boundaries by sending crafted network packet data such as TLS SNI, HTTP headers, or DNS names that reach this vulnerable function, leading to heap corruption.

Detection Guidance

Detecting this vulnerability requires monitoring for heap corruption or crashes in nDPI versions before 6.0. Check if your system uses an affected version with commands like 'ndpiReader --version' or 'dpkg -l | grep ndpi'. Monitor network traffic for malformed TLS SNI, HTTP headers, or DNS names that may trigger the overflow.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can lead to heap corruption, potentially causing crashes, data corruption, or arbitrary code execution. Attackers could exploit it to gain control over affected systems by sending specially crafted network traffic.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability could lead to unauthorized data access or corruption due to heap corruption, potentially violating GDPR's integrity and confidentiality requirements or HIPAA's safeguards for protected health information. Exploitation may result in data breaches or integrity failures, impacting compliance.

Mitigation Strategies

Upgrade nDPI to version 6.0 or later immediately. If upgrading is not possible, restrict network access to trusted sources, disable parsing of TLS SNI, HTTP headers, and DNS names in nDPI, and monitor for unusual heap corruption or crashes.

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