Classic Buffer OverflowWeakness · CWE-120

CVE-2026-24810

CRITICAL · 10.0 CVSS v4.0 Published 2026-01-27
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available

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
Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input ('Classic Buffer Overflow') vulnerability in rethinkdb (src/cjson modules). This vulnerability is associated with program files cJSON.Cc. This issue affects rethinkdb: through v2.4.4.

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 classic buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the cJSON module of RethinkDB (cJSON.cc). The vulnerability stems from copying data into a buffer without proper size validation, potentially allowing an attacker to overwrite adjacent memory and execute arbitrary code.

MitigationUpgrade RethinkDB to a patched version beyond v2.4.4. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to the RethinkDB service and implement input validation at network boundaries.

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
Authentication
Y
User interaction
None
Scope
N

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/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:N/AU:Y/R:U/V:C/RE:M/U:Red

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. Identify RethinkDB installation and version
    Run 'rethinkdb --version' or check the installed package version using your system's package manager (dpkg -l | grep rethinkdb, rpm -qi rethinkdb, or brew list --versions rethinkdb)
    Affected if The installed version is 2.4.4 or lower, or if the version cannot be determined but RethinkDB is present
  2. Locate the cJSON module file
    Search for cJSON.cc or cJSON related files in the RethinkDB installation directory, typically found under /usr/lib/rethinkdb or /opt/rethinkdb (find /usr -name 'cJSON*' 2>/dev/null)
    Affected if The cJSON.cc file exists in the RethinkDB installation directory, indicating the vulnerable component is present
  3. Determine if cJSON functionality is in active use
    Review application logs, configuration files, or database queries that involve JSON parsing operations within RethinkDB; check for any custom scripts or integrations that use cJSON-based features
    Affected if RethinkDB is actively processing JSON data through its cJSON module (common in most RethinkDB deployments)
  4. Check network exposure of RethinkDB service
    Run 'netstat -tlnp | grep rethinkdb' or 'ss -tlnp | grep rethinkdb' to identify listening ports, and review firewall rules (iptables -L or ufw status)
    Affected if RethinkDB is bound to a network interface accessible from untrusted networks (0.0.0.0 or external IP rather than 127.0.0.1)

A user is affected if RethinkDB version 2.4.4 or lower is installed, the cJSON module is present, and the database is processing JSON data, especially if exposed to network access.

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
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Vendor patch github.com →
Interim mitigation

Upgrade RethinkDB to a patched version beyond v2.4.4. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to the RethinkDB service and implement input validation at network boundaries.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing10.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
34.0 hours of engineering $5,940
Get the patch applied

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $9,504.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2026-24810 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
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