CVE-2026-38752
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 · uneditedA stack overflow in the evaluate() function (editors/awk.c) of BusyBox commit 371fe9 allows attackers to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) via supplying a crafted AWK script.
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 confidenceStack overflow vulnerability in BusyBox's AWK evaluate() function (editors/awk.c) triggered by supplying a crafted AWK script, leading to denial of service. The overflow occurs during script evaluation in the AWK interpreter.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 2024-07-13CVSS 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
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm BusyBox installation and versionRun 'busybox --version' or 'busybox -v' to display the installed BusyBox version stringAffected if Version displays as exactly 2024-07-13 (the specific affected build date)
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Verify AWK functionality is availableRun 'which awk' or 'busybox awk --help' to determine if the AWK utility is accessible through BusyBoxAffected if AWK command is available and resolves to BusyBox (output shows BusyBox AWK usage information)
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Check if AWK is symlinked to BusyBox binaryRun 'ls -la $(which awk)' or 'file $(which awk)' to see if awk points to the BusyBox binaryAffected if The awk binary is BusyBox itself or a symlink to it (common in embedded systems)
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Identify all AWK-related binaries provided by BusyBoxRun 'busybox --list | grep -i awk' to list all AWK-related utilities included in this BusyBox buildAffected if Any AWK implementation (awk, gawk, mawk) is listed and resolves to BusyBox
You are affected if BusyBox version is exactly 2024-07-13 AND the AWK utility is available and powered by this BusyBox binary.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
dbcve · scopedUpdate BusyBox to a patched version when available; meanwhile, restrict or disable AWK functionality for untrusted inputs until the vulnerability is remediated.
Any stable BusyBox release newer than the 2024-07-13 snapshot that includes the fix for the evaluate() stack overflow in editors/awk.c
- 1. Identify the current BusyBox version in your environment using `busybox --version` or checking your package manager.
- 2. Check if your current version is based on or includes the vulnerable commit 371fe9 (dated 2024-07-13).
- 3. Obtain a newer stable BusyBox release that includes the fix for this vulnerability. Check the official BusyBox website (busybox.net) or your distribution's package repositories for updated packages.
- 4. Test the updated BusyBox in a staging environment before deploying to production, particularly if you use AWK functionality.
- 5. Deploy the updated BusyBox package using your system's package manager or by compiling from source if custom builds are required.
- 6. Verify the update was successful and that AWK scripts still function correctly in your environment.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,096.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-38752 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-38752 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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