CVE-2020-5213

In NetHack before 3.6.5, too long of a value for the SYMBOL configurat ...

Published 28 Jan 2020Modified 17 Jun 2026CWE 120

In the Trivy database since at least 24 Oct 2026, 07:11 UTCWhen it arrived before that build is not recorded.

Severity by source

NVD9.8CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Trivy's own label is CRITICAL. Rated critical by NVD. Rated lower by Ubuntu (low).

Description

In NetHack before 3.6.5, too long of a value for the SYMBOL configuration file option can cause a buffer overflow resulting in a crash or remote code execution/privilege escalation. This vulnerability affects systems that have NetHack installed suid/sgid and shared systems that allow users to upload their own configuration files. Users should upgrade to NetHack 3.6.5.

Affected packages and fixed versions

Source	Package	Fixed in
debian 11	nethack	3.6.6-1
debian 12	nethack	3.6.6-1
debian 13	nethack	3.6.6-1
debian 14	nethack	3.6.6-1
echo	nethack	3.6.6-1
ubuntu 18.04-ESM	nethack	no fix listed
ubuntu 20.04-ESM	nethack	no fix listed

References

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RecordsEach decision is recorded with the policy that ran and its hash, then sealed under a signed checkpoint.

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Vulnerability data compiled from the Trivy vulnerability database (trivy-db, Aqua Security, Apache License 2.0), which aggregates third-party advisories. CVE records are published by The MITRE Corporation under the CVE Terms of Use; CVE is a trademark of MITRE. This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Severity, titles and advisory data from the GitHub Advisory Database (CC BY 4.0), Red Hat security data (CC BY 4.0) and the other sources linked on each entry. Entries may be summarised or re-formatted; the linked original is the authoritative record.