CVE-2020-15888
Lua through 5.4.0 mishandles the interaction between stack resizes and garbage collection,...
CVE-2020-15888 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 8.8) in Lua, published July 21, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 2.44%, the 84th percentile. Fixed in lua 5.3.5-11.
- Severity
- 8.8 HighCVSS 3.1, NVD
- Exploit chance
- 2.44%EPSS, 84th percentile
- Exploitation
- None knownNot on CISA’s or ENISA’s lists
- Fixed in
5.3.5-11lua +5 more
Description
Lua through 5.4.0 mishandles the interaction between stack resizes and garbage collection, leading to a heap-based buffer overflow, heap-based buffer over-read, or use-after-free.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- Required
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
luaAzure Linux:2 | before 5.3.5-11 | 5.3.5-11 |
luaBitnami | 5.4.0 up to 5.4.1 | 5.4.1 |
lua5.4Debian:12 | before 5.4.1-1 | 5.4.1-1 |
lua5.4Debian:13 | before 5.4.1-1 | 5.4.1-1 |
lua5.4Debian:14 | before 5.4.1-1 | 5.4.1-1 |
lua55openSUSE:Tumbleweed From an advisory covering 9 CVEs | before 5.5.0~beta1-1.1 | 5.5.0~beta1-1.1 |
What each source reports
NVD Score used
Lua through 5.4.0 mishandles the interaction between stack resizes and garbage collection, leading to a heap-based buffer overflow, heap-based buffer over-read, or use-after-free.
- Record
CVE-2020-15888- CVSS 3.1
- 8.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 6.8 Medium
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P - Weakness
- CWE-125, CWE-416, CWE-787
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE ListNo score
Lua through 5.4.0 mishandles the interaction between stack resizes and garbage collection, leading to a heap-based buffer overflow, heap-based buffer over-read, or use-after-free.
- Record
CVE-2020-15888- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2020-7862No score
Lua through 5.4.0 mishandles the interaction between stack resizes and garbage collection, leading to a heap-based buffer overflow, heap-based buffer over-read, or use-after-free.
- Record
EUVD-2020-7862- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-4f5v-4r5w-g4x3
Lua through 5.4.0 mishandles the interaction between stack resizes and garbage collection,...
Lua through 5.4.0 mishandles the interaction between stack resizes and garbage collection, leading to a heap-based buffer overflow, heap-based buffer over-read, or use-after-free.
- Record
GHSA-4f5v-4r5w-g4x3- CVSS 3.1
- 8.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-125, CWE-416
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVAZL-6670
CVE-2020-15888 affecting package lua for versions less than 5.3.5-11
Lua through 5.4.0 mishandles the interaction between stack resizes and garbage collection, leading to a heap-based buffer overflow, heap-based buffer over-read, or use-after-free.
- Record
AZL-6670- CVSS 3.1
- 8.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVBELL-CVE-2020-15888
CVE-2020-15888 does not affect BellSoft software
- Record
BELL-CVE-2020-15888- CVSS 3.1
- 8.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
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OSV
Lua through 5.4.0 mishandles the interaction between stack resizes and garbage collection, leading to a heap-based buffer overflow, heap-based buffer over-read, or use-after-free.
- Record
CVE-2020-15888- CVSS 3.1
- 8.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2020-15888
Lua through 5.4.0 mishandles the interaction between stack resizes and garbage collection, leading to a heap-based buffer overflow, heap-based buffer over-read, or use-after-free.
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2020-15888- CVSS 3.1
- 8.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVBIT-lua-2020-15888No score
Lua through 5.4.0 mishandles the interaction between stack resizes and garbage collection, leading to a heap-based buffer overflow, heap-based buffer over-read, or use-after-free.
- Record
BIT-lua-2020-15888- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2024:11029-1No score
liblua5_4-5-32bit-5.4.3-4.2 on GA media
These are all security issues fixed in the liblua5_4-5-32bit-5.4.3-4.2 package on the GA media of openSUSE Tumbleweed.
- Record
openSUSE-SU-2024:11029-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2025:15401-1No score
liblua5_5-5-5.5.0~beta1-1.1 on GA media
These are all security issues fixed in the liblua5_5-5-5.5.0~beta1-1.1 package on the GA media of openSUSE Tumbleweed.
- Record
openSUSE-SU-2025:15401-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| affected, facts | ||
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
References
github.com/lua/lua/commit/eb41999461b6f428186c55abd95f4ce1a76217d5
lua-users.org/lists/lua-l/2020-07/msg00053.html
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nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-15888
docs.bell-sw.com/security/cves/CVE-2020-15888
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2020-15888
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-15888