CVE-2021-47972 Overview
CVE-2021-47972 is a denial of service vulnerability in Sticky Notes & Color Widgets version 1.4.2. The application crashes when an attacker submits a note containing an excessively long sequence of repeated characters. Pasting a large payload into a note field causes the application to stop responding and terminate. The flaw is categorized under [CWE-789: Memory Allocation with Excessive Size Value]. Public proof-of-concept code is available via Exploit-DB #49957, and the issue is documented in the VulnCheck Denial of Service Advisory.
Critical Impact
An attacker can render Sticky Notes & Color Widgets 1.4.2 unusable by submitting an oversized character string, causing the application to crash and lose availability.
Affected Products
- Sticky Notes & Color Widgets 1.4.2
Discovery Timeline
- 2026-05-16 - CVE-2021-47972 published to the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
- 2026-05-18 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2021-47972
Vulnerability Analysis
The vulnerability is a denial of service condition triggered by unbounded input handling in note fields. Sticky Notes & Color Widgets 1.4.2 fails to validate or limit the length of strings supplied by the user when creating or editing a note. When the application processes an oversized input, it allocates excessive memory or exceeds an internal buffer expectation, resulting in a crash. The class of weakness is [CWE-789: Memory Allocation with Excessive Size Value], in which the application reserves memory based on attacker-controlled size without imposing safe upper bounds.
Root Cause
The root cause is the absence of input length validation on note content. The application accepts arbitrary repeated character sequences and attempts to process them in full. No safeguards truncate, reject, or stream the input, so the data structure backing each note grows until the process becomes unresponsive or terminates.
Attack Vector
An attacker pastes or submits a very long payload of repeated characters into a note field. The application attempts to render or store the value, exhausting resources and crashing. The condition affects availability only. Confidentiality and integrity remain unaffected, consistent with the vulnerability classification. Refer to the published proof of concept at Exploit-DB #49957 for the exact payload pattern.
Detection Methods for CVE-2021-47972
Indicators of Compromise
- Repeated application crashes or hangs associated with the Sticky Notes & Color Widgets process at version 1.4.2.
- Note files or backing storage containing unusually long sequences of repeated characters.
- Operating system crash reports referencing memory allocation failures from the affected application.
Detection Strategies
- Inspect note storage files for entries with character lengths far exceeding normal user input.
- Monitor process termination events for the Sticky Notes & Color Widgets binary at version 1.4.2.
- Correlate user reports of unresponsive widgets with input events that contain large clipboard pastes.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Track application crash telemetry on endpoints running the affected version.
- Alert on note files exceeding a defined size threshold that is inconsistent with normal usage.
- Review clipboard or input automation activity targeting the application on shared workstations.
How to Mitigate CVE-2021-47972
Immediate Actions Required
- Identify endpoints running Sticky Notes & Color Widgets 1.4.2 and inventory their exposure.
- Restrict use of the affected version on systems where availability of the note application is operationally important.
- Educate users to avoid pasting untrusted large payloads into the application.
Patch Information
No vendor patch is referenced in the available CVE data. Consult the VulnCheck Denial of Service Advisory for vendor updates and remediation guidance.
Workarounds
- Remove or replace Sticky Notes & Color Widgets 1.4.2 until a fixed release is available.
- Limit clipboard sharing from untrusted sources on systems that use the application.
- Back up note data regularly so that a crash does not result in permanent content loss.
# Configuration example
# No vendor configuration mitigation is documented for CVE-2021-47972.
# Refer to https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/sticky-notes-color-widgets-denial-of-service for updates.
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
