CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-30872NVD status: Analyzed

openwrt: Stack-based Buffer Overflow

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-30872 is a critical-severity stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in openwrt, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. Affected openwrt versions: >= 25.12.0-rc1, < 25.12.1; < 24.10.6. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 2.5% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 85% of scored CVEs.

Patch this week

Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.

What to do

  1. Check which version of openwrt you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
  2. Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
  3. Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
OpenWrtopenwrt>= 25.12.0-rc1, < 25.12.1; < 24.10.6Not stated

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
NoneNo account or login is needed.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.

Scoring systemScoreSeverityScored by
CVSS 4.09.5CriticalCNA (github.com)
CVSS 3.19.8CriticalNVD

Official description

OpenWrt Project is a Linux operating system targeting embedded devices. In versions prior to 24.10.6 and 25.12.1, the mdns daemon has a Stack-based Buffer Overflow vulnerability in the match_ipv6_addresses function, triggered when processing PTR queries for IPv6 reverse DNS domains (.ip6.arpa) received via multicast DNS on UDP port 5353. During processing, the domain name from name_buffer is copied via strcpy into a fixed 256-byte stack buffer, and then the reverse IPv6 request is extracted into a buffer of only 46 bytes (INET6_ADDRSTRLEN). Because the length of the data is never validated before this extraction, an attacker can supply input larger than 46 bytes, causing an out-of-bounds write. This allows a specially crafted DNS query to overflow the stack buffer in match_ipv6_addresses, potentially enabling remote code execution. This issue has been fixed in versions 24.10.6 and 25.12.1.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Stack-based Buffer Overflow

The product writes past the end of a buffer that was allocated on the stack.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Use automatic buffer overflow detection mechanisms that are offered by certain compilers or compiler extensions. Examples include: the Microsoft Visual Studio /GS flag, Fedora/Red Hat FORTIFY_SOURCE GCC flag, StackGuard, and ProPolice, which provide various mechanisms including canary-based detection and range/index checking. D3-SFCV (Stack Frame Canary Validation) from D3FEND discusses canary-based detection in detail.
  • Use an abstraction library to abstract away risky APIs. Not a complete solution.
  • Implement and perform bounds checking on input.

More Stack-based Buffer Overflow vulnerabilities (CWE-121)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: yes, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other vulnerabilities in openwrt

All openwrt vulnerabilities

Recent Stack-based Buffer Overflow vulnerabilities

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