# CVE-2020-7454: Memory corruption in FreeBSD

> An out-of-bounds read/write in FreeBSD's libalias allows attackers to cause memory corruption, potentially leading to code execution or system crashes.

- **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:** No
- **Published:** 13 May 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-5g86-qjm3-wfq4

## What is CVE-2020-7454?

CVE-2020-7454 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Freebsd Freebsd, published on 13 May 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In FreeBSD 12.1-STABLE before r360971, 12.1-RELEASE before p5, 11.4-STABLE before r360971, 11.4-BETA1 before p1 and 11.3-RELEASE before p9, libalias does not properly validate packet length resulting in modules causing an out of bounds read/write condition if no checking was built into the module.

Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write), CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-7454?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Freebsd Freebsd.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-7454?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-7454 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-7454 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-7454 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Freebsd Freebsd

- [CVE-2018-17160](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-17160/): Memory corruption in FreeBSD (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2014-3954](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-3954/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2006-4304](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-4304/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2006-0226](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-0226/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2004-0002](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0002/): Denial of service in n/a (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-7454 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-7454 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Freebsd Freebsd, published on 13 May 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-2020-7454 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Freebsd Freebsd. 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-2020-7454/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7454/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-7454
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-7454
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-7454

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7454/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.