# CVE-2011-4971: Integer overflow in n/a

> Remote attackers can crash Memcached servers by sending packets with large body length values due to integer signedness errors.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.0 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 12 Dec 2013
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** CVE-2013-2026, DEBIAN-CVE-2011-4971, GHSA-pj3v-4mjw-vvpv, MGASA-2013-0339

## What is CVE-2011-4971?

CVE-2011-4971 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 12 Dec 2013. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Multiple integer signedness errors in the (1) process_bin_sasl_auth, (2) process_bin_complete_sasl_auth, (3) process_bin_update, and (4) process_bin_append_prepend functions in Memcached 1.4.5 and earlier allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via a large body length value in a packet.

Weakness: CWE-189

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2011-4971?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Memcached Memcached.

## How do I fix CVE-2011-4971?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2011-4971 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2011-4971 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Memcached Remote Denial of Service (metasploit)

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2023-46853](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-46853/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-8704](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-8704/): Integer overflow in Memcached (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-8705](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-8705/): Integer overflow in Memcached (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-47783](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-47783/): Information disclosure in memcached (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2026-47784](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-47784/): Information disclosure in memcached (high 8.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2011-4971 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2011-4971 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 12 Dec 2013. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2011-4971 exists.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-4971/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-4971/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2011-4971
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2011-4971
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2011-4971

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-4971/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.