{"description":"Trending threats, MITRE ATT\u0026CK coverage, and detection metadata — refreshed continuously.","feed_url":"https://feed.craftedsignal.io/tags/cve-2016-20044/","home_page_url":"https://feed.craftedsignal.io/","items":[{"_cs_actors":[],"_cs_cves":[],"_cs_exploited":false,"_cs_products":[],"_cs_severities":["high"],"_cs_tags":["buffer-overflow","local-privilege-escalation","cve-2016-20044"],"_cs_type":"advisory","_cs_vendors":[],"content_html":"\u003cp\u003ePInfo 0.6.9-5.1 contains a critical local buffer overflow vulnerability (CVE-2016-20044) that allows a malicious local attacker to execute arbitrary code. This vulnerability stems from the application\u0026rsquo;s insufficient input validation when handling the \u0026lsquo;-m\u0026rsquo; parameter. By exploiting this flaw, an attacker can overwrite the instruction pointer and gain unauthorized access. This can potentially lead to full system compromise. The attacker crafts a malicious input string with 564 bytes of padding followed by a return address.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"attack-chain\"\u003eAttack Chain\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe attacker gains local access to the vulnerable system.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe attacker identifies the PInfo binary (likely located in /usr/bin or /usr/local/bin).\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe attacker crafts a malicious input string exceeding the buffer size allocated for the \u0026lsquo;-m\u0026rsquo; parameter. This malicious string includes 564 bytes of padding.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe attacker appends a return address to the malicious string, pointing to a memory location containing the attacker\u0026rsquo;s shellcode.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe attacker executes the PInfo binary with the crafted malicious input as an argument to the \u0026lsquo;-m\u0026rsquo; parameter. \u003ccode\u003epinfo -m \u0026quot;A\u0026quot;*564 + \u0026lt;return_address\u0026gt;\u003c/code\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe buffer overflow occurs, overwriting the return address on the stack.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhen the PInfo function returns, it jumps to the attacker-controlled address, executing the shellcode.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe attacker\u0026rsquo;s shellcode executes with the privileges of the user running PInfo. This can lead to privilege escalation if PInfo is run by a privileged user or via setuid.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"impact\"\u003eImpact\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSuccessful exploitation of this vulnerability allows a local attacker to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the user running the vulnerable PInfo application. This could lead to sensitive data disclosure, unauthorized modification of system files, or complete system compromise. While the exact number of affected systems is unknown, any system running PInfo 0.6.9-5.1 is potentially vulnerable.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"recommendation\"\u003eRecommendation\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eApply available patches or upgrade to a version of PInfo that addresses CVE-2016-20044.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMonitor process creation events for executions of \u003ccode\u003epinfo\u003c/code\u003e with unusually long arguments to the \u003ccode\u003e-m\u003c/code\u003e parameter, using the Sigma rule provided.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eImplement strict input validation for all command-line arguments in applications to prevent buffer overflows.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n","date_modified":"2026-03-28T12:16:00Z","date_published":"2026-03-28T12:16:00Z","id":"/briefs/2024-01-pinfo-buffer-overflow/","summary":"PInfo version 0.6.9-5.1 is susceptible to a local buffer overflow vulnerability, enabling local attackers to execute arbitrary code by providing an overly large argument to the '-m' parameter, ultimately allowing for shellcode execution with user privileges.","title":"PInfo 0.6.9-5.1 Local Buffer Overflow Vulnerability","url":"https://feed.craftedsignal.io/briefs/2024-01-pinfo-buffer-overflow/"}],"language":"en","title":"CraftedSignal Threat Feed — Cve-2016-20044","version":"https://jsonfeed.org/version/1.1"}