NetBSD: Double Free
CVE-2026-57842 is a high-severity double free vulnerability in NetBSD from The NetBSD Foundation, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.0 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists version 9.5 as the first without the flaw, so updating NetBSD to that release or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.14% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update NetBSD to 9.5 or a later version.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| The NetBSD Foundation | NetBSD | 8.0 through 8.3; 9.0 up to, but not including, 9.5; 10.0 through 10.1 | 9.5 |
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
- LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
- Attack complexity
- HighSuccess depends on conditions outside the attacker's control.
- Privileges required
- LowA basic user account is enough.
- 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:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA (vulncheck.com).
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 4.0 | 7.3 | High | CNA (vulncheck.com) |
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.0 | High | CNA (vulncheck.com) |
Official description
NetBSD contains a use-after-free and double-free vulnerability in msg_recv_copyin() within the COMPAT_NETBSD32 compatibility layer due to a missing return statement before the cleanup label on the success path. Any local user able to execute a 32-bit binary on a 64-bit NetBSD system can trigger a kernel panic or memory corruption by calling recvmsg() with msg_iovlen between 9 and IOV_MAX, causing the kernel to access a freed iovec buffer and subsequently free the same allocation a second time.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Double Free
The product calls free() twice on the same memory address.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Choose a language that provides automatic memory management.
- Ensure that each allocation is freed only once. After freeing a chunk, set the pointer to NULL to ensure the pointer cannot be freed again. In complicated error conditions, be sure that clean-up routines respect the state of allocation properly. If the language is object oriented, ensure that object destructors delete each chunk of memory only once.
- Use a static analysis tool to find double free instances.
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Other references
Other vulnerabilities in NetBSD
- 7.0 High severity
Recent Double Free vulnerabilities
- 7.1 High severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
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