CVE-2026-22262: Oisf Suricata Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

CVE-2026-22262 Overview

CVE-2026-22262 is a critical stack buffer overflow vulnerability affecting Suricata, the widely-deployed open-source network Intrusion Detection System (IDS), Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), and Network Security Monitoring (NSM) engine developed by the Open Information Security Foundation (OISF). The vulnerability exists in the dataset save functionality where a fixed-size stack buffer is used to prepare data. When the data contained within the dataset exceeds the expected buffer size, a stack overflow condition occurs, potentially allowing attackers to corrupt memory, crash the application, or execute arbitrary code.

Critical Impact

This stack buffer overflow vulnerability in Suricata's dataset save operation can be exploited remotely without authentication, potentially allowing attackers to compromise network security infrastructure, disable intrusion detection capabilities, or gain control of systems running vulnerable Suricata versions.

Affected Products

• OISF Suricata versions prior to 8.0.3
• OISF Suricata versions prior to 7.0.14
• Suricata deployments using rules with dataset save or state options

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-01-27 - CVE-2026-22262 published to NVD
• 2026-01-29 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-22262

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability stems from unsafe memory handling in Suricata's dataset save functionality (CWE-121: Stack-based Buffer Overflow, CWE-787: Out-of-bounds Write). When Suricata processes rules that utilize datasets with save or state options, it allocates a fixed-size buffer on the stack to prepare data for storage. The vulnerability occurs because the application does not adequately validate that the incoming data will fit within this pre-allocated stack buffer before copying operations occur.

The network-accessible nature of this vulnerability means that an attacker who can influence the data being processed by Suricata—such as through crafted network traffic that triggers specific rule matches—could potentially exploit this condition. Stack buffer overflows of this nature are particularly dangerous because they can overwrite critical stack data including return addresses, enabling control flow hijacking and arbitrary code execution.

Root Cause

The root cause lies in insufficient bounds checking when copying dataset contents into a stack-allocated buffer during save operations. The code assumes a maximum data size that may be exceeded by actual dataset contents, leading to memory corruption when oversized data is processed. This is a classic stack-based buffer overflow pattern where trust is placed in input data without proper validation.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based, meaning exploitation can occur remotely without requiring authentication or user interaction. An attacker would need to:

1. Identify a target Suricata instance running a vulnerable version
2. Craft network traffic designed to trigger rules that use datasets with save or state options
3. Include payload data that exceeds the expected buffer size
4. Successfully trigger the stack overflow condition

The exploitation mechanics involve sending specifically crafted network packets that, when processed by Suricata's rule engine, result in dataset operations that overflow the stack buffer. This could allow an attacker to overwrite the return address on the stack, redirecting execution flow to attacker-controlled code. For technical implementation details, refer to the GitHub Security Advisory GHSA-9qg5-2gwh-xp86 and the Open InfoSec Foundation Issue #8110.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-22262

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected Suricata process crashes or restarts, particularly during high-traffic periods
• Segmentation faults logged in Suricata or system logs related to stack corruption
• Anomalous network traffic patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts against the IDS/IPS
• Evidence of memory corruption artifacts in core dumps or crash reports

Detection Strategies

• Monitor Suricata process stability and investigate frequent crashes or unexpected terminations
• Implement file integrity monitoring on Suricata configuration files and rule sets to detect unauthorized changes
• Deploy additional network monitoring to detect suspicious traffic patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts
• Review Suricata logs for unusual behavior during dataset save operations

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging in Suricata to capture detailed information about rule processing and dataset operations
• Configure alerting for Suricata service interruptions or abnormal resource consumption
• Implement centralized log collection to correlate potential exploitation attempts across multiple Suricata sensors
• Monitor system logs for stack overflow or segmentation fault errors associated with the Suricata process

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-22262

Immediate Actions Required

• Upgrade to Suricata version 8.0.3 or 7.0.14 immediately depending on your deployment branch
• Audit all Suricata rule files to identify rules using dataset save or state options
• If immediate patching is not possible, implement the workaround by disabling rules that use dataset save/state functionality
• Review Suricata deployment architecture to ensure defense-in-depth protections are in place

Patch Information

OISF has released patched versions that address this vulnerability. The fixes are available in Suricata 8.0.3 and 7.0.14. Multiple commits have been applied to resolve the issue:

• Commit 0eff24213763c2aa2bb0957901d5dc1e18414dbf
• Commit 27a2180bceaa3477419c78c54fce364398d011f1
• Commit 32609e6896f9079c175665a94005417cec7637eb
• Commit 32a1b9ae6aa80a60c073897e38a2ac6ea0f64521
• Commit d6bc718e303ecbec5999066b8bc88eeeca743658
• Commit d767dfadcd166f82683757818b9e46943326ac90

For complete details, see the GitHub Security Advisory GHSA-9qg5-2gwh-xp86.

Workarounds

• Remove or disable all Suricata rules that utilize the dataset save option until patching is complete
• Remove or disable all Suricata rules that utilize the dataset state option until patching is complete
• Implement network segmentation to limit exposure of Suricata sensors to untrusted traffic sources
• Consider deploying redundant monitoring solutions while vulnerable Suricata instances are being remediated

# Identify rules using dataset save or state options
grep -r "dataset.*save\|dataset.*state" /etc/suricata/rules/

# Comment out or remove identified rules temporarily
# Example: Disable a rule by commenting it out
# sed -i 's/^alert/# alert/' /etc/suricata/rules/custom-dataset-rules.rules

# Restart Suricata after rule modifications
sudo systemctl restart suricata

# Verify Suricata version after upgrade
suricata --build-info | grep "Suricata version"