CVE-2026-4750: Woof Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

CVE-2026-4750 Overview

CVE-2026-4750 is an Out-of-Bounds Read vulnerability affecting the woof Doom source port maintained by fabiangreffrath. This memory safety issue allows attackers to read data beyond the bounds of an allocated memory buffer, potentially leading to information disclosure or application crashes. The vulnerability exists in versions prior to woof_15.3.0.

Critical Impact

This vulnerability enables network-based attacks that can compromise confidentiality and availability without requiring authentication or user interaction.

Affected Products

• fabiangreffrath woof versions before woof_15.3.0

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-03-24 - CVE CVE-2026-4750 published to NVD
• 2026-03-24 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-4750

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read), a memory safety issue where the application reads data from a location outside the boundaries of the intended buffer. In the context of woof, which is a continuation of the Boom source port for playing classic Doom games, this type of vulnerability can be triggered when processing specially crafted game data or network packets.

The out-of-bounds read condition occurs when the software attempts to access memory at an index or offset that exceeds the allocated buffer size. This can result in the exposure of sensitive information stored in adjacent memory regions or cause the application to crash when attempting to read from invalid memory addresses.

Root Cause

The root cause stems from insufficient boundary validation when reading data into memory buffers. The application fails to properly verify that read operations remain within the allocated memory bounds, allowing attackers to manipulate input data in ways that cause the application to access memory outside the intended buffer regions. This type of flaw commonly occurs in C/C++ applications that perform manual memory management without adequate bounds checking.

Attack Vector

The vulnerability can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring authentication or user interaction. An attacker could craft malicious data packets or game files that, when processed by the vulnerable woof application, trigger the out-of-bounds read condition.

The attack scenario involves:

1. An attacker crafting specially formatted input data designed to exploit the boundary validation flaw
2. The vulnerable woof application receiving and processing this malicious data
3. The application reading beyond allocated buffer boundaries, potentially exposing sensitive memory contents or causing a denial of service condition

For technical details on the specific code changes addressing this vulnerability, refer to the GitHub Pull Request #2521.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-4750

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected crashes or segmentation faults in woof processes
• Abnormal memory access patterns in application logs
• Unusual network traffic targeting woof game servers
• Application termination with memory-related error messages

Detection Strategies

• Monitor for abnormal process terminations or crashes in woof instances
• Implement network intrusion detection rules to identify malformed game packets
• Use memory debugging tools like Valgrind or AddressSanitizer during testing to detect out-of-bounds access attempts
• Review application logs for signs of memory corruption or unexpected behavior

Monitoring Recommendations

• Deploy endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to monitor for exploitation attempts
• Enable crash reporting and analysis for woof applications in production environments
• Monitor network traffic for unusual patterns targeting game server ports
• Implement logging of application errors and memory-related exceptions

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-4750

Immediate Actions Required

• Upgrade woof to version woof_15.3.0 or later immediately
• Restrict network access to woof servers to trusted networks only
• Consider temporarily disabling network functionality if upgrade is not immediately possible
• Monitor systems for signs of exploitation attempts

Patch Information

The vulnerability has been addressed in woof version woof_15.3.0. The fix implements proper boundary validation to prevent out-of-bounds memory reads. Users should update to this version or later to remediate the vulnerability.

For details on the specific changes made to address this vulnerability, see the GitHub Pull Request #2521.

Workarounds

• Limit network exposure by running woof instances behind firewalls with restricted access
• Disable network multiplayer functionality until the patch can be applied
• Run the application in a sandboxed environment to limit potential impact
• Use application-level firewalls to filter potentially malicious input

# Example: Restrict network access using firewall rules
# Block external access to woof server ports
iptables -A INPUT -p udp --dport 5029 -s ! 192.168.1.0/24 -j DROP
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 5029 -s ! 192.168.1.0/24 -j DROP