# CVE-2024-53849: Several stack buffer overflows and pointer overflows in editorconfig-core-c

> Stack buffer overflows in editorconfig-core-c allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service via crafted patterns.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.8 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 26 Nov 2024
- **Updated:** 3 Nov 2025
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2024-53849, GHSA-475j-wc37-6274, SUSE-SU-2024:4152-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-53849

## What is CVE-2024-53849?

CVE-2024-53849 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in editorconfig-core-c, published on 26 Nov 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

editorconfig-core-c  is  theEditorConfig core library written in C (for use by plugins supporting EditorConfig parsing). In affected versions several overflows may occur in switch case '[' when the input pattern contains many escaped characters. The added backslashes leave too little space in the output pattern when processing nested brackets such that the remaining input length exceeds the output capacity. This issue has been addressed in release version 0.12.7. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

Weakness: CWE-121 (Stack-based Buffer Overflow)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-53849?


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `editorconfig-core-c` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP6 | All versions | 0.12.6-150600.3.3.1 |
| `editorconfig-core-c` | openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | All versions | 0.12.6-150600.3.3.1 |

## How do I fix CVE-2024-53849?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2024-53849 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-53849 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2024-53849 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-53849 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in editorconfig-core-c, published on 26 Nov 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-53849 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: editorconfig-core-c. 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-2024-53849/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-53849/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-53849
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-53849
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-53849

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-53849/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.