CVE-2026-38753
MediumCVSS 4.9Exploitation Probability (EPSS)
Low risk20th percentile - higher than 20% of all known CVEs
Summary
A use-after-free vulnerability in the awk_sub() function (editors/awk.c) of BusyBox v1.38.0 allows attackers to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) by supplying a crafted AWK script.
Risk Assessment
The risk involves potential local or remote system crashes via malicious AWK scripts, which can disrupt critical services.
Recommendation
Immediately update BusyBox to a version newer than 1.38.0 that includes a fix. If updating is not possible, restrict access to the AWK interpreter to trusted scripts only.
Other vulnerabilities in BusyBox
See all- CVE-2017-16544High
In the add_match function in libbb/lineedit.c in BusyBox through 1.27.2, the tab autocomplete feature does not sanitize filenames, potentially leading to executing any escape sequences in the terminal.
- CVE-2011-5325High
Directory traversal vulnerability in the BusyBox implementation of tar before version 1.22.0 v5 allows remote attackers to point to files outside the current working directory via a symlink.
- CVE-2016-2147High
Integer overflow in the DHCP client (udhcpc) in BusyBox before version 1.25.0 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via a malformed RFC1035-encoded domain name, leading to an out-of-bounds heap write.
- CVE-2016-6301High
The recv_and_process_client_pkt function in networking/ntpd.c in busybox allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via a forged NTP packet, triggering a communication loop.
- CVE-2022-48174Critical
A stack overflow vulnerability exists in ash.c:6030 in busybox before version 1.35. In the Internet of Vehicles environment, it can be exploited from command execution to arbitrary code execution.
- CVE-2026-76014Low
A vulnerability was found in BusyBox up to version 1.30.1 in the file networking/wget.c, in the FEATURE_WGET_TIMEOUT Handler component. Manipulation of the -T argument leads to a null pointer dereference. Local access is required. The exploit has been disclosed, and a patch is available (commit 83a40bf7a93c8ac093d33ab452222dd5b9eb57ff).
- CVE-2026-38755Low
A heap overflow in the evalcommand() function (shell/ash.c) of BusyBox v1.38.0 allows attackers to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) via supplying a crafted input.
- CVE-2026-38754Medium
Heap overflow in the ifsbreakup() function (shell/ash.c) of Busybox v1.38.0. An attacker can cause a Denial of Service (DoS) by supplying crafted input.
- CVE-2026-38752Low
A stack overflow vulnerability exists in the evaluate() function (editors/awk.c) of BusyBox commit 371fe9. Attackers can cause a Denial of Service (DoS) by supplying a crafted AWK script.
- CVE-2026-29004High
BusyBox before commit 42202bf has a heap buffer overflow vulnerability in the DHCPv6 client (udhcpc6) DNS_SERVERS option handler. A network-adjacent attacker can send a crafted DHCPv6 response with a malformed D6_OPT_DNS_SERVERS option to trigger memory corruption.
Original NVD description (English source)
A use-after-free in the awk_sub() function (editors/awk.c) of Busybox v1.38.0 allows attackers to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) via supplying a crafted AWK script.