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Stack-based Buffer OverflowWeakness · CWE-121

CVE-2024-55577

HIGH · 7.0 CVSS v3.0 Published 2025-01-15
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in Linux Ratfor 1.06 and earlier. When the software processes a file which is specially crafted by an attacker, arbitrary code may be executed. As a result, the attacker may obtain or alter information of the user environment or cause the user environment to become unusable.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

A stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in Linux Ratfor 1.06 and earlier allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a specially crafted input file. The overflow occurs during file processing, enabling attackers to overwrite stack memory and hijack program execution flow.

MitigationUpgrade to a patched version of Ratfor if available, or implement input validation and bounds checking in file processing routines. Consider removing Ratfor if unused to eliminate the attack surface.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check if Ratfor is installed
    Run 'which ratfor' or 'rpm -qa | grep -i ratfor' or 'dpkg -l | grep -i ratfor' to locate the Ratfor binary on the system
    Affected if Ratfor is present on the system
  2. Determine installed Ratfor version
    Run 'ratfor --version' or 'ratfor -v' to retrieve the version number
    Affected if Version is 1.06 or earlier (or version cannot be determined but the binary exists)
  3. Verify file processing is in use
    Check for any scripts, cron jobs, or automated pipelines that invoke ratfor to process input files from shared locations or untrusted sources
    Affected if Ratfor is used to process input files, especially from untrusted or shared sources
  4. Inspect for signs of exploitation
    Review system logs and Ratfor input/output directories for unexpected files, core dumps, or unusual process behavior around ratfor execution
    Affected if There are indicators of compromise or unusual files in directories where ratfor operates

A system is affected if it runs Ratfor version 1.06 or earlier and processes untrusted input files with that vulnerable binary.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to a patched version of Ratfor if available, or implement input validation and bounds checking in file processing routines. Consider removing Ratfor if unused to eliminate the attack surface.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $3,000
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-55577 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data