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Stack-based Buffer OverflowWeakness · CWE-121

CVE-2026-44048

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-21
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable Zero-click

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
A stack-based buffer overflow via UCS-2 type confusion in convert_charset() in Netatalk 2.0.4 through 4.4.2 allows a remote authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service.

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 exists in the convert_charset() function of Netatalk, caused by UCS-2 type confusion. This allows a remote authenticated attacker to overwrite stack memory, potentially executing arbitrary code or causing a denial of service. The vulnerability affects Netatalk versions 2.0.4 through 4.4.2.

MitigationUpgrade Netatalk to a patched version beyond 4.4.2. As an interim measure, restrict network access to the Netatalk service and limit authenticated user privileges to reduce 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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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. Identify if Netatalk is installed
    Run 'dpkg -l netatalk' on Debian/Ubuntu, 'rpm -qa | grep -i netatalk' on RHEL/CentOS, or locate the afpd binary with 'which afpd'
    Affected if Netatalk is present on the system
  2. Determine installed Netatalk version
    Execute 'netatalk -V' or 'afpd -V' to retrieve the exact version number, then compare it to the version containing the CVE fix
    Affected if The installed version predates the patched release for this vulnerability
  3. Confirm charset conversion feature is enabled
    Inspect Netatalk configuration files in /etc/netatalk/ (such as afp.conf) for 'convert charset', 'maccodes', or 'usedosmap' directives that enable charset conversion processing
    Affected if Charset conversion is configured or in use, enabling the vulnerable convert_charset() code path
  4. Check AFP service network exposure
    Run 'netstat -tlnp | grep :548' or 'ss -tlnp | grep :548' to see if port 548 is listening, and verify access controls permit remote connections
    Affected if The AFP service is listening on a network-accessible interface without proper access restrictions

The environment is potentially affected if Netatalk is installed with an unpatched version and the charset conversion feature is actively used while the AFP service is network-accessible.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade Netatalk to a patched version beyond 4.4.2. As an interim measure, restrict network access to the Netatalk service and limit authenticated user privileges to reduce the attack surface.

Recommended fix High confidence

Netatalk 4.4.3 or later (latest stable release)

  1. Check the currently installed Netatalk version (e.g., netatalk -V or dpkg -l | grep netatalk).
  2. Confirm the version is between 2.0.4 and 4.4.2 inclusive, which is affected by CVE-2026-44048.
  3. Update your package repository to ensure you have access to the latest Netatalk packages.
  4. Upgrade Netatalk to the latest stable release (e.g., apt update && apt install netatalk on Debian/Ubuntu, or yum update netatalk on RHEL/CentOS).
  5. If you compile Netatalk from source, download the new version from https://netatalk.io and compile/install (e.g., ./configure && make && make install).
  6. Restart the Netatalk service to apply the changes (e.g., systemctl restart netatalk or service netatalk restart).
  7. Verify the installed version now exceeds 4.4.2 (e.g., netatalk -V).

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,480
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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-2026-44048 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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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