CVE-2016-20048
Published: 28 March 2026
Summary
CVE-2016-20048 is a high-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Ossp (inferred from references). Its CVSS base score is 8.6 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Client Execution (T1203); ranked at the 6.2th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and SI-16 (Memory Protection).
Deeper analysis
CVE-2016-20048 is a local buffer overflow vulnerability affecting iSelect version 1.4.0-2+b1. The issue arises from supplying an oversized value to the -k or --key command-line parameter, which overflows a 1024-byte stack buffer. This flaw, published on 2026-03-28, carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.4 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) and is classified under CWE-22.
Local attackers can exploit the vulnerability with no privileges required by crafting a malicious argument that includes a NOP sled, shellcode, and return address. Successful exploitation leads to arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the user running iSelect.
Resources for further details include the iSelect project page at http://www.ossp.org/pkg/tool/iselect/, a proof-of-concept exploit at https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/41076, and a VulnCheck advisory at https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/iselect-2-b1-local-buffer-overflow-via-key-parameter. No specific patches or mitigations are detailed in the available information.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2016-10850
Vulnerability details
iSelect 1.4.0-2+b1 contains a local buffer overflow vulnerability that allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code by supplying an oversized value to the -k/--key parameter. Attackers can craft a malicious argument containing a NOP sled, shellcode, and return address to…
more
overflow a 1024-byte stack buffer and gain code execution with user privileges.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Local stack buffer overflow via oversized -k/--key argument enables direct arbitrary code execution (NOP sled + shellcode) in the context of the running user.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
SI-2 requires timely identification, reporting, and correction of flaws like the buffer overflow in iSelect, directly preventing exploitation by patching or updating the vulnerable software.
SI-10 mandates validation of information inputs such as the oversized -k/--key parameter, preventing the stack buffer overflow by enforcing bounds checking on command-line arguments.
SI-16 implements memory protections like stack canaries, ASLR, and non-executable stacks to block arbitrary code execution even if the buffer overflow occurs in iSelect.