CVE-2026-53994

ProFTPD mod_sftp contains a heap-based buffer overflow reachable by an authenticated SFTP user. The fxp_packet_read() function accepts the attacker-supplied 32-bit big-endian SFTP packet length without a minimum sanity check. A value of 0 causes an unsigned subtraction elsewhere in the read path to underflow to approximately 4 GB. That oversized request reaches the core memory allocator, where the rounded size is computed in size_t but passed to new_block() as a 32-bit int; the low 32 bits of 0x100000000 are 0, so new_block() returns a small (~512-byte) block while the caller is told it received ~4 GB. The subsequent fill loop then streams attacker-controlled bytes past the end of the 544-byte allocation, producing an attacker-controlled heap buffer overflow. An authenticated user can crash the per-connection ProFTPD session child on demand with a single malformed SFTP packet (packet_len=0 followed by a body greater than approximately 544 bytes), producing reliable authenticated remote denial of service. Depending on heap layout and adjacent allocations, heap metadata corruption and further consequences beyond denial of service may be possible, though only denial of service is demonstrated by the supplied proof of concept.
Configurations

Configuration 1 (hide)

cpe:2.3:a:proftpd:proftpd:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

History

30 Jul 2026, 18:00

Type Values Removed Values Added
References () https://github.com/proftpd/proftpd - () https://github.com/proftpd/proftpd - Product
References () https://github.com/proftpd/proftpd/commit/7342836fa98e36209660a4c5805c801476f63936 - () https://github.com/proftpd/proftpd/commit/7342836fa98e36209660a4c5805c801476f63936 - Patch
References () https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/proftpd-mod-sftp-heap-buffer-overflow-via-unsigned-integer-underflow-and-size-truncation - () https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/proftpd-mod-sftp-heap-buffer-overflow-via-unsigned-integer-underflow-and-size-truncation - Patch, Third Party Advisory
CPE cpe:2.3:a:proftpd:proftpd:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
First Time Proftpd
Proftpd proftpd

18 Jul 2026, 20:17

Type Values Removed Values Added
New CVE

Information

Published : 2026-07-18 20:17

Updated : 2026-07-30 18:00


NVD link : CVE-2026-53994

Mitre link : CVE-2026-53994

CVE.ORG link : CVE-2026-53994


JSON object : View

Products Affected

proftpd

  • proftpd
CWE
CWE-122

Heap-based Buffer Overflow