# CVE-2015-4042: Integer overflow in n/a

> An integer overflow in GNU Coreutils sort command allows attackers to cause a denial of service via long strings.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 24 Jan 2020
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-9qcx-32pg-7pqp

## What is CVE-2015-4042?

CVE-2015-4042 is a critical vulnerability in n/a, published on 24 Jan 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Integer overflow in the keycompare_mb function in sort.c in sort in GNU Coreutils through 8.23 might allow attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via long strings.

Weakness: CWE-190 (Integer Overflow or Wraparound)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2015-4042?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Gnu Coreutils.

## How do I fix CVE-2015-4042?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2015-4042 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2015-4042 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2015-4041](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-4041/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2017-18018](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-18018/): Race condition in n/a (high 7.1)
- [CVE-2024-0684](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-0684/): Coreutils: heap overflow in split --line-bytes with very long lines (medium 5.5)
- [CVE-2015-1865](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-1865/): Race condition in n/a (medium 5.1)
- [CVE-2026-56391](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-56391/): Out‑of‑bounds Read in GNU coreutils (medium 4.6)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2015-4042 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2015-4042 is a critical vulnerability in n/a, published on 24 Jan 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2015-4042 in the wild and no public exploit code.

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-2015-4042/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-4042/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2015-4042
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-4042
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2015-4042

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-4042/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.