CVE-2026-53994: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-435f-wcrw-9x3x
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-122
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-53994 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-122: Heap-based Buffer Overflow) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when a heap overflow condition is a buffer overflow, where the buffer that can be overwritten is allocated in the heap portion of memory, generally meaning that the buffer was allocated using a routine such as malloc().. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2026-53994 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-53994
GHSA Identifier GHSA-435f-wcrw-9x3x
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-122: Heap-based Buffer Overflow
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity High (AC:H)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2026-53994

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Software dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2026-53994, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Software in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-122: Heap-based Buffer Overflow, where a heap overflow condition is a buffer overflow, where the buffer that can be overwritten is allocated in the heap portion of memory, generally meaning that the buffer was allocated using a routine such as malloc(). In Software, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

ProFTPD mod_sftp contains a heap-based buffer overflow reachable by an authenticated SFTP user. The fxp_packet_read() function accepts the attacker-supplied 32-bit big-endian SFTP packet length without a minimum sanity check. A value of 0 causes an unsigned subtraction elsewhere in the read path to underflow to approximately 4 GB. That oversized request reaches the core memory allocator, where the rounded size is computed in size_t but passed to new_block() as a 32-bit int; the low 32 bits of 0x100000000 are 0, so new_block() returns a small (~512-byte) block while the caller is told it received ~4 GB. The subsequent fill loop then streams attacker-controlled bytes past the end of the 544-byte allocation, producing an attacker-controlled heap buffer overflow. An authenticated user can crash the per-connection ProFTPD session child on demand with a single malformed SFTP packet (packet_len=0 followed by a body greater than approximately 544 bytes), producing reliable authenticated remote denial of service. Depending on heap layout and adjacent allocations, heap metadata corruption and further consequences beyond denial of service may be possible, though only denial of service is demonstrated by the supplied proof of concept.

References

NVD — CVE-2026-53994 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53994
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/proftpd/proftpd/commit/7342836fa98e36209660a4c5805c801476f63936
Software Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/proftpd/proftpd
www.vulncheck.com/advisories/proftpd-... WEB
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/proftpd-mod-sftp-heap-buffer-overflow-via-unsigned-integer-underflow-and-size-truncation

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-53994?
CVE-2026-53994 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-122: Heap-based Buffer Overflow.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2026-53994?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-53994?
CVE-2026-53994 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-53994?
CVE-2026-53994 is classified under CWE-122: Heap-based Buffer Overflow (A heap overflow condition is a buffer overflow, where the buffer that can be overwritten is allocated in the heap portion of memory, generally meaning that the buffer was allocated using a routine such as malloc().).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2026-53994?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-435f-wcrw-9x3x",
  "modified" : "2026-07-18T21:30:24Z",
  "published" : "2026-07-18T21:30:24Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-53994" ],
  "details" : "ProFTPD mod_sftp contains a heap-based buffer overflow reachable by an authenticated SFTP user. The fxp_packet_read() function accepts the attacker-supplied 32-bit big-endian SFTP packet length without a minimum sanity check. A value of 0 causes an unsigned subtraction elsewhere in the read path to underflow to approximately 4 GB. That oversized request reaches the core memory allocator, where the rounded size is computed in size_t but passed to new_block() as a 32-bit int; the low 32 bits of 0x100000000 are 0, so new_block() returns a small (~512-byte) block while the caller is told it received ~4 GB. The subsequent fill loop then streams attacker-controlled bytes past the end of the 544-byte allocation, producing an attacker-controlled heap buffer overflow. An authenticated user can crash the per-connection ProFTPD session child on demand with a single malformed SFTP packet (packet_len=0 followed by a body greater than approximately 544 bytes), producing reliable authenticated remote denial of service. Depending on heap layout and adjacent allocations, heap metadata corruption and further consequences beyond denial of service may be possible, though only denial of service is demonstrated by the supplied proof of concept.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53994"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
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  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/proftpd/proftpd"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/proftpd-mod-sftp-heap-buffer-overflow-via-unsigned-integer-underflow-and-size-truncation"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-122" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-07-18T20:17:30Z"
  }
}