GCC's-fstack-protector fails to guard dynamically-sized local variables on AArch64

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Summary

CVECVE-2023-4039
StatePUBLISHED
AssignerArm
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2023-09-13 09:15:15 UTC
Updated2026-06-23 18:17:35 UTC
Description**DISPUTED**A failure in the -fstack-protector feature in GCC-based toolchains that target AArch64 allows an attacker to exploit an existing buffer overflow in dynamically-sized local variables in your application without this being detected. This stack-protector failure only applies to C99-style dynamically-sized local variables or those created using alloca(). The stack-protector operates as intended for statically-sized local variables. The default behavior when the stack-protector detects an overflow is to terminate your application, resulting in controlled loss of availability. An attacker who can exploit a buffer overflow without triggering the stack-protector might be able to change program flow control to cause an uncontrolled loss of availability or to go further and affect confidentiality or integrity. NOTE: The GCC project argues that this is a missed hardening bug and not a vulnerability by itself.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.1 4.8 MEDIUM from [email protected]

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

EPSS: 0.006660000 probability, percentile 0.471630000 (date 2026-06-28)

Problem Types: CWE-693 | NVD-CWE-Other | CWE-693 CWE-693 Protection Mechanism Failure

VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.1[email protected]Primary4.8MEDIUMCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
3.1[email protected]Secondary4.8MEDIUMCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
3.1CNACVSS4.8MEDIUMCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
High
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

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

NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)

TypeVendorProductVersionUpdateEditionLanguage
Application Gnu Gcc All All All All

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Arm Ltd Arm GNU Toolchain affected All versions where option -fstack-protector is used Not specified
CNA GNU GCC affected All versions of GCC that target AArch64 when option -fstack-protector is used Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
GCC's -fstack-protector fails to guard dynamic stack allocations on ARM64 · Advisory · metaredteam/external-disclosures · GitHub af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 github.com Exploit, Patch, Third Party Advisory
GCC Stack Protector Vulnerability AArch64 af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 developer.arm.com Exploit, Patch, Third Party Advisory
CVE Program record CVE.ORG www.cve.org canonical
NVD vulnerability detail NVD nvd.nist.gov canonical, analysis

Vendor Comments And Credit

Discovery Credit

CNA: Tom Hebb from Meta Red Team X and Maria Markstedter from Azeria Labs (en)

Additional Advisory Data

Solutions

CNA: Recompile vulnerable code using an updated toolchain.

Legacy QID Mappings

  • 505870 Alpine Linux Security Update for gcc
  • 673474 EulerOS Security Update for gcc (EulerOS-SA-2024-1103)
  • 673525 EulerOS Security Update for gcc (EulerOS-SA-2024-1265)
  • 673590 EulerOS Security Update for gcc (EulerOS-SA-2023-3328)
  • 673609 EulerOS Security Update for gcc (EulerOS-SA-2023-3296)
  • 673672 EulerOS Security Update for gcc (EulerOS-SA-2023-3174)
  • 673734 EulerOS Security Update for gcc (EulerOS-SA-2023-3209)
  • 673783 EulerOS Security Update for gcc (EulerOS-SA-2024-1118)
  • 754856 SUSE Enterprise Linux Security Update for gcc12 (SUSE-SU-2023:3640-1)
  • 754865 SUSE Enterprise Linux Security Update for gcc7 (SUSE-SU-2023:3686-1)
  • 755132 SUSE Enterprise Linux Security Update for gcc13 (SUSE-SU-2023:4162-1)
  • 755209 SUSE Enterprise Linux Security Update for gcc13 (SUSE-SU-2023:4287-1)
  • 755216 SUSE Enterprise Linux Security Update for gcc13 (SUSE-SU-2023:4287-2)
  • 755271 SUSE Enterprise Linux Security Update for gcc13 (SUSE-SU-2023:4458-1)
  • 755285 SUSE Enterprise Linux Security Update for gcc13 (SUSE-SU-2023:4480-1)
  • 755854 SUSE Enterprise Linux Security Update for gcc12 (SUSE-SU-2023:3661-1)
  • 755898 SUSE Enterprise Linux Security Update for gcc7 (SUSE-SU-2023:3662-1)
  • 907319 Common Base Linux Mariner (CBL-Mariner) Security Update for gcc (28769-1)
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