Buffer overflow in FreeBSD

CVE-2026-45253

ptrace(PT_SC_REMOTE) failed to properly validate parameters for the syscall(2) and __syscall(2) meta-system calls. As a result, a user with the ability to debug a process may trigger arbitrary code execution in the kernel, even if the target process has no special privileges. The missing validation allows an unprivileged local user to escalate privileges, potentially gaining full control of the affected system.

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 (7.0th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 7th percentile — 7.0% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2026-45253: held from 0.002 to 0.002.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.002 · newest: 0.002 · change: -0.000

Affected products

  • FreeBSD — versions 14.3, 15.0, 14.4-RELEASE

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-45253?
CVE-2026-45253 is a high-severity vulnerability in FreeBSD, classified under Out-of-bounds Write. CVSS score: 8.4/10. Published 2026-05-21.
How severe is CVE-2026-45253?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.4 out of 10.