Buffer overflow in Zftp Client
CVE-2016-20046
zFTP Client 20061220+dfsg3-4.1 contains a buffer overflow vulnerability in the NAME parameter handling of FTP connections that allows local attackers to crash the application or execute arbitrary code. Attackers can supply an oversized NAME value exceeding the 80-byte buffer allocated in strcpy_chk to overwrite the instruction pointer and execute shellcode with user privileges.
Vulnerability class: Buffer Overflow
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 8.4 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.002 (3.5th percentile), scored .
Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 4th percentile — 3.5% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.002 · newest: 0.002 · change: 0.000
Affected products
- Zftp Client — versions 20061220+dfsg3-4.1
Weakness classification (CWE)
References
- www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40203 (exploit)
- cernlib.web.cern.ch/cernlib/ (product)
- www.vulncheck.com/advisories/zftp-client-20061220-dfsg3-local-buffer-overflow (third-party-advisory)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2016-20046?
- CVE-2016-20046 is a high-severity vulnerability in Zftp Client, classified under Out-of-bounds Write. CVSS score: 8.4/10. Published 2026-03-28.
- How severe is CVE-2016-20046?
- High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.4 out of 10.