Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-27821

Memory Safety in Gpac ≤ 26.02.0

Public PoCMemory Safety
Published
26 February 2026
Modified
11 March 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v4 7.7
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
EPSS Score 0.0027 19th percentile
Risk Priority 41 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2026-27821 is a high-severity Stack-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-121) vulnerability in Gpac Gpac. Its CVSS base score is 7.7 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 19th 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 map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2026-27821 is a stack buffer overflow vulnerability (CWE-121) in the GPAC open-source multimedia framework, affecting versions up to and including 26.02.0. The flaw occurs in the NHML file parser located at src/filters/dmx_nhml.c, where the value of the xmlHeaderEnd XML attribute from att->value is copied via strcpy() into the fixed-size stack buffer szXmlHeaderEnd[1000] without any bounds checking. Inputs longer than 1000 bytes overwrite memory beyond the buffer boundary, as scored at CVSS 7.8 (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

An attacker with local access can exploit this vulnerability with low complexity and no required privileges, but it necessitates user interaction, such as convincing a user to open or process a specially crafted malicious NHML file using GPAC. Successful exploitation enables high-impact outcomes, including arbitrary code execution with potential for full confidentiality, integrity, and availability compromise on the affected system.

Mitigation is provided by commit 9bd7137fded2db40de61a2cf3045812c8741ec52, which addresses the buffer overflow. Security advisories, including GHSA-q7qh-8r2r-q559 on the GPAC GitHub repository, recommend updating to a patched version of GPAC that incorporates this fix.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

GPAC is an open-source multimedia framework. In versions up to and including 26.02.0, a stack buffer overflow occurs during NHML file parsing in `src/filters/dmx_nhml.c`. The value of the xmlHeaderEnd XML attribute is copied from att->value into szXmlHeaderEnd[1000] using strcpy() without…

more

any length validation. If the input exceeds 1000 bytes, it overwrites beyond the stack buffer boundary. Commit 9bd7137fded2db40de61a2cf3045812c8741ec52 patches the issue.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-52292Same product: Gpac Gpac
CVE-2025-70304Same product: Gpac Gpac
CVE-2025-70307Same product: Gpac Gpac
CVE-2025-60474Same product: Gpac Gpac
CVE-2025-55660Same product: Gpac Gpac
CVE-2025-70309Same product: Gpac Gpac
CVE-2023-2837Same product: Gpac Gpac
CVE-2025-70305Same product: Gpac Gpac
CVE-2024-0321Same product: Gpac Gpac
CVE-2023-4756Same product: Gpac Gpac

Affected Assets

gpac
gpac
≤ 26.02.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 2 hardening rules · 2 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

—

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Developer testing and analysis can discover stack-buffer overflows before deployment.

Input validation directly stops untrusted data from exceeding stack buffer bounds.

Memory-protection mechanisms limit the ability to execute injected code after a stack overflow.

Secure-engineering principles include bounds-checked coding and safe buffer handling that avoid introducing the flaw.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure-development practices directly prevent introduction of stack buffer overflows.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning can discover stack buffer overflows but does not prevent their introduction.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching eliminates known instances of the weakness after discovery.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

finds

Security testing (fuzzing, static analysis) detects stack overflows before release.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates buffer-safety practices that directly prevent stack overflows.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify buffer-size and input-validation rules.

prevents

Secure architecture principles include memory-safety and least-privilege stack usage.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe buffer handling that causes CWE-121.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
  • V-248594 OL 8 must implement address space layout randomization (ASLR) to protect its memory from unauthorized code execution. prevents CWE-121
Oracle Linux 9 (1 rule)
  • V-271452 OL 9 must use a Linux Security Module configured to enforce limits on system services. prevents CWE-121

References