CVE-2020-5253
Privilege escalation in NetHack
CVE-2020-5253 is a low vulnerability (CVSS 3.9) in Nethack, published March 10, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.54%, the 45th percentile. Fixed in nethack 3.6.0-1.
NetHack before version 3.6.0 allowed malicious use of escaping of characters in the configuration file (usually .nethackrc) which could be exploited. This bug is patched in NetHack 3.6.0.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
Privilege escalation in NetHack
NetHack before version 3.6.0 allowed malicious use of escaping of characters in the configuration file (usually .nethackrc) which could be exploited. This bug is patched in NetHack 3.6.0.
- Record
CVE-2020-5253- CVSS 3.1
- 3.9 Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-184
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2020-26463
NetHack before version 3.6.0 allowed malicious use of escaping of characters in the configuration file (usually .nethackrc) which could be exploited. This bug is patched in NetHack 3.6.0.
- Record
EUVD-2020-26463- CVSS 3.1
- 3.9 Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-03
NVD
NetHack before version 3.6.0 allowed malicious use of escaping of characters in the configuration file (usually .nethackrc) which could be exploited. This bug is patched in NetHack 3.6.0.
- Record
CVE-2020-5253- CVSS 3.1
- 3.9 Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N - CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 7.5 High
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P - Weakness
- CWE-184, CWE-269
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
NetHack before version 3.6.0 allowed malicious use of escaping of characters in the configuration file (usually .nethackrc) which could be exploited. This bug is patched in NetHack 3.6.0.
- Record
CVE-2020-5253- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2020-5253
NetHack before version 3.6.0 allowed malicious use of escaping of characters in the configuration file (usually .nethackrc) which could be exploited. This bug is patched in NetHack 3.6.0.
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2020-5253- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2020-5253
NetHack before version 3.6.0 allowed malicious use of escaping of characters in the configuration file (usually .nethackrc) which could be exploited. This bug is patched in NetHack 3.6.0.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2020-5253- CVSS 3.1
- 3.9 Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N - CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2025:14898-1 No score
nethack-3.4.3-6.1 on GA media
These are all security issues fixed in the nethack-3.4.3-6.1 package on the GA media of openSUSE Tumbleweed.
- Record
openSUSE-SU-2025:14898-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
nethackDebian:12 |
before 3.6.0-1 | 3.6.0-1 |
nethackDebian:13 |
before 3.6.0-1 | 3.6.0-1 |
nethackDebian:14 |
before 3.6.0-1 | 3.6.0-1 |
nethackUbuntu:16.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.4.3-153.4.3-15build1 |
None known |
nethackopenSUSE:Tumbleweed |
before 3.4.3-6.1 | 3.4.3-6.1 |
History
| When | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-11-03 | aliases | EUVD |
| 2026-11-02 | created | CVE List, NVD, OSV |
References
github.com/NetHack/NetHack/security/advisories/GHSA-2c7p-3fj4-223m
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2020-5253
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2020-5253
nethack.org/security/CVE-2020-5253.html
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-5253
lists.opensuse.org/archives/list/[email protected]/thread/ZXWYIIFE7GQMOSGULGWD55HZTUENYTOP
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-5253