CVE-2021-41253Possible heap buffer overflow when using zycore string functions in formatter hooks
- 5.9MediumCVSS base score
- 1.9%Exploitation in 30 daysEPSS · top 20% of all CVEs
- NoKnown exploitednot in CISA's KEV catalog
- NonePublic exploitsnone known yet
Description
Zydis is an x86/x86-64 disassembler library. Users of Zydis versions v3.2.0 and older that use the string functions provided in `zycore` in order to append untrusted user data to the formatter buffer within their custom formatter hooks can run into heap buffer overflows. Older versions of Zydis failed to properly initialize the string object within the formatter buffer, forgetting to initialize a few fields, leaving their value to chance. This could then in turn cause zycore functions like `ZyanStringAppend` to make incorrect calculations for the new target size, resulting in heap memory corruption. This does not affect the regular uncustomized Zydis formatter, because Zydis internally doesn't use the string functions in zycore that act upon these fields. However, because the zycore string functions are the intended way to work with the formatter buffer for users of the library that wish to extend the formatter, we still consider this to be a vulnerability in Zydis. This bug is patched starting in version 3.2.1. As a workaround, users may refrain from using zycore string functions in their formatter hooks until updating to a patched version.
Timeline
ID reserved
By GitHub_M
- 54 days later
· 54 days later
Published
- 3 years later
· 3 years later
Record updated
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub_MCNA (assigner) | 3.1 | Medium5.9 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
| NVDNVD · Modified | 3.1 | High8.1 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 1.9% · top 20% of all CVEs (13 Nov 2026)
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: Medium 5.9.
Affected products
References
References4
- https://github.com/zyantific/zydis/security/advisories/GHSA-q42v-hv86-3m4g (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
- https://github.com/zyantific/zydis/commit/55dd08c210722aed81b38132f5fd4a04ec1943b5 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- https://huntr.dev/bounties/96b0a482-7041-45b1-9327-c6a4a8f32d3a (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- https://huntr.dev/bounties/d2536d7d-36ce-4723-928c-98d1ee039784 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- EUVD EUVD-2021-28299 (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://cveledger.app/cve/CVE-2021-41253)Record last updated .