CVE-2023-24809
NetHack Call command buffer overflow
CVE-2023-24809 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 5.5) in Nethack, published February 17, 2023. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.24%, the 14th percentile. Fixed in nethack 3.6.7-r0.
NetHack is a single player dungeon exploration game. Starting with version 3.6.2 and prior to version 3.6.7, illegal input to the "C" (call) command can cause a buffer overflow and crash the NetHack process. This vulnerability may be a security issue for systems that have NetHack installed suid/sgid and for shared systems. For all systems, it may result in a process crash. This issue is resolved in NetHack 3.6.7. There are no known workarounds.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
5.5
NetHack Call command buffer overflow
NetHack is a single player dungeon exploration game. Starting with version 3.6.2 and prior to version 3.6.7, illegal input to the "C" (call) command can cause a buffer overflow and crash the NetHack process. This vulnerability may be a security issue for systems that have NetHack installed suid/sgid and for shared systems. For all systems, it may result in a process crash. This issue is resolved in NetHack 3.6.7. There are no known workarounds.
- Record
CVE-2023-24809- CVSS 3.1
- 5.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-120
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2023-28807
5.5
NetHack is a single player dungeon exploration game. Starting with version 3.6.2 and prior to version 3.6.7, illegal input to the "C" (call) command can cause a buffer overflow and crash the NetHack process. This vulnerability may be a security issue for systems that have NetHack installed suid/sgid and for shared systems. For all systems, it may result in a process crash. This issue is resolved in NetHack 3.6.7. There are no known workarounds.
- Record
EUVD-2023-28807- CVSS 3.1
- 5.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
5.5
NetHack is a single player dungeon exploration game. Starting with version 3.6.2 and prior to version 3.6.7, illegal input to the "C" (call) command can cause a buffer overflow and crash the NetHack process. This vulnerability may be a security issue for systems that have NetHack installed suid/sgid and for shared systems. For all systems, it may result in a process crash. This issue is resolved in NetHack 3.6.7. There are no known workarounds.
- Record
CVE-2023-24809- CVSS 3.1
- 5.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-120
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVALPINE-CVE-2023-24809
5.5
NetHack is a single player dungeon exploration game. Starting with version 3.6.2 and prior to version 3.6.7, illegal input to the "C" (call) command can cause a buffer overflow and crash the NetHack process. This vulnerability may be a security issue for systems that have NetHack installed suid/sgid and for shared systems. For all systems, it may result in a process crash. This issue is resolved in NetHack 3.6.7. There are no known workarounds.
- Record
ALPINE-CVE-2023-24809- CVSS 3.1
- 5.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-03
OSV
5.5
NetHack Call command buffer overflow
NetHack is a single player dungeon exploration game. Starting with version 3.6.2 and prior to version 3.6.7, illegal input to the "C" (call) command can cause a buffer overflow and crash the NetHack process. This vulnerability may be a security issue for systems that have NetHack installed suid/sgid and for shared systems. For all systems, it may result in a process crash. This issue is resolved in NetHack 3.6.7. There are no known workarounds.
- Record
CVE-2023-24809- CVSS 3.1
- 5.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-120
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2023-24809
5.5
NetHack is a single player dungeon exploration game. Starting with version 3.6.2 and prior to version 3.6.7, illegal input to the "C" (call) command can cause a buffer overflow and crash the NetHack process. This vulnerability may be a security issue for systems that have NetHack installed suid/sgid and for shared systems. For all systems, it may result in a process crash. This issue is resolved in NetHack 3.6.7. There are no known workarounds.
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2023-24809- CVSS 3.1
- 5.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2023-24809
5.5
NetHack is a single player dungeon exploration game. Starting with version 3.6.2 and prior to version 3.6.7, illegal input to the "C" (call) command can cause a buffer overflow and crash the NetHack process. This vulnerability may be a security issue for systems that have NetHack installed suid/sgid and for shared systems. For all systems, it may result in a process crash. This issue is resolved in NetHack 3.6.7. There are no known workarounds.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2023-24809- CVSS 3.1
- 5.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
nethackAlpine:v3.18 |
3.6.2 up to 3.6.7-r0 | 3.6.7-r0 |
nethackAlpine:v3.19 |
3.6.2 up to 3.6.7-r0 | 3.6.7-r0 |
nethackAlpine:v3.20 |
3.6.2 up to 3.6.7-r0 | 3.6.7-r0 |
nethackAlpine:v3.21 |
3.6.2 up to 3.6.7-r0 | 3.6.7-r0 |
nethackAlpine:v3.22 |
3.6.2 up to 3.6.7-r0 | 3.6.7-r0 |
nethackAlpine:v3.23 |
3.6.2 up to 3.6.7-r0 | 3.6.7-r0 |
nethackAlpine:v3.24 |
3.6.2 up to 3.6.7-r0 | 3.6.7-r0 |
nethackDebian:12 |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.6.6-33.6.7-13.6.7-23.6.7-33.6.7-4 |
None known |
nethackDebian:13 |
before 3.6.7-1 | 3.6.7-1 |
nethackDebian:14 |
before 3.6.7-1 | 3.6.7-1 |
Show 8 moreShow less
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
nethackUbuntu:16.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.4.3-153.4.3-15build1 |
None known |
nethackUbuntu:18.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.6.0-4 |
None known |
nethackUbuntu:20.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.6.1-1 |
None known |
nethackUbuntu:22.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.6.6-2build1 |
None known |
nethackUbuntu:24.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.6.7-13.6.7-1build23.6.7-1build3 |
None known |
nethackUbuntu:25.10 |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.6.7-1build33.6.7-2 |
None known |
nethackUbuntu:26.10 |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.6.7-2build13.6.7-33.6.7-4 |
None known |
nethackUbuntu:26.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.6.7-23.6.7-2build1 |
None known |
History
| When | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-11-03 | affected, aliases, references | OSV |
| 2026-11-02 | created | CVE List, EUVD, NVD, OSV |
References
github.com/NetHack/NetHack/security/advisories/GHSA-2cqv-5w4v-mgch
nethack.org/security/CVE-2023-24809.html
security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2023-24809
github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2023/24xxx/CVE-2023-24809.json
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-24809
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-24809
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-24809
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-24809