nethack — security advisory
In NetHack before 3.6.5, unknown options starting with -de and -i 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 influence command line options. Users should upgrade to NetHack 3.6.5.
- Products
- nethack
- Affected versions
- Not specified
- Fixed versions
- 3.6.6-1
- CVEs
- CVE-2020-5209
- Confirmed fixed CVEs
- Not specified
- Updated in this feed
- 1 Nov 2026, 14:03 UTC · Revision 1
Source evidence
In NetHack before 3.6.5, unknown options starting with -de and -i 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 influence command line options. Users should upgrade to NetHack 3.6.5.
osv:DEBIAN-CVE-2020-5209
nethack
Fixed versions: 3.6.6-1
nethack
Fixed versions: 3.6.6-1
nethack
Fixed versions: 3.6.6-1
Complete source record
{
"id": "26af1e9d880203bf7463ab6e2c3766940c3d1dfdd4eb9bc4243d9e83953944de",
"url": "https://osv.dev/vulnerability/DEBIAN-CVE-2020-5209",
"method": "structured",
"payload": {
"kind": "advisory",
"title": "DEBIAN-CVE-2020-5209",
"summary": "In NetHack before 3.6.5, unknown options starting with -de and -i 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 influence command line options. Users should upgrade to NetHack 3.6.5.",
"evidence": "osv:DEBIAN-CVE-2020-5209",
"products": [
{
"name": {
"value": "nethack",
"evidence": "/affected/0/package/name"
},
"prerequisites": [],
"fixed_versions": [
{
"value": "3.6.6-1",
"evidence": "/affected/0/ranges"
}
],
"affected_versions": []
},
{
"name": {
"value": "nethack",
"evidence": "/affected/1/package/name"
},
"prerequisites": [],
"fixed_versions": [
{
"value": "3.6.6-1",
"evidence": "/affected/1/ranges"
}
],
"affected_versions": []
},
{
"name": {
"value": "nethack",
"evidence": "/affected/2/package/name"
},
"prerequisites": [],
"fixed_versions": [
{
"value": "3.6.6-1",
"evidence": "/affected/2/ranges"
}
],
"affected_versions": []
}
],
"severity": "high",
"structured": {
"id": "DEBIAN-CVE-2020-5209",
"aliases": [
"DEBIAN-CVE-2020-5209"
],
"metrics": [
{
"type": "CVSS_V3",
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
}
],
"affected": [
{
"ranges": [
{
"type": "ECOSYSTEM",
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"fixed": "3.6.6-1"
}
]
}
],
"package": {
"name": "nethack",
"purl": "pkg:deb/debian/nethack?arch=source&distro=bookworm",
"ecosystem": "Debian:12"
},
"database_specific": {
"source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/debian-osv/debian-cve-osv/DEBIAN-CVE-2020-5209.json"
},
"ecosystem_specific": {
"urgency": "unimportant"
}
},
{
"ranges": [
{
"type": "ECOSYSTEM",
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"fixed": "3.6.6-1"
}
]
}
],
"package": {
"name": "nethack",
"purl": "pkg:deb/debian/nethack?arch=source&distro=trixie",
"ecosystem": "Debian:13"
},
"database_specific": {
"source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/debian-osv/debian-cve-osv/DEBIAN-CVE-2020-5209.json"
},
"ecosystem_specific": {
"urgency": "unimportant"
}
},
{
"ranges": [
{
"type": "ECOSYSTEM",
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"fixed": "3.6.6-1"
}
]
}
],
"package": {
"name": "nethack",
"purl": "pkg:deb/debian/nethack?arch=source&distro=forky",
"ecosystem": "Debian:14"
},
"database_specific": {
"source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/debian-osv/debian-cve-osv/DEBIAN-CVE-2020-5209.json"
},
"ecosystem_specific": {
"urgency": "unimportant"
}
}
],
"modified": "2026-10-26T12:02:49.644212281Z",
"provider": "osv",
"upstream": [
"CVE-2020-5209"
],
"references": [
"https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2020-5209"
]
},
"related_cves": [
{
"value": "CVE-2020-5209",
"evidence": "/upstream"
}
],
"security_relevant": true,
"severity_evidence": "/severity/0/score"
},
"source_id": "core-osv",
"document_id": 453089,
"published_at": "2020-01-28T18:15:11.087+00:00"
}