Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-27890

Memory Safety in Firebirdsql Firebird ≤ 3.0.14

Public PoCMemory Safety
Published
17 April 2026
Modified
24 April 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.2
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0046 38th percentile
Risk Priority 62 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-27890 is a high-severity Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer (CWE-119) vulnerability in Firebirdsql Firebird. Its CVSS base score is 8.2 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 38th 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 SA-15 (Development Process, Standards, and Tools) — 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-2026-27890 affects Firebird, an open-source relational database management system, in versions prior to 5.0.4, 4.0.7, and 3.0.14. The vulnerability arises during authentication when the server processes CNCT_specific_data segments, assuming they arrive in strictly ascending order. If segments arrive out of order, the Array class's grow() method computes a negative size value, triggering a SIGSEGV crash. This issue is classified under CWE-119 (Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer) and CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write), with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.2 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H).

An unauthenticated remote attacker needs only the server's IP address and port to exploit this vulnerability. By sending specially crafted authentication packets with out-of-order CNCT_specific_data segments, the attacker can reliably cause a server crash, resulting in denial of service. The attack requires low complexity, with no privileges, user interaction, or special conditions, though it has no direct impact on confidentiality and only low integrity impact.

Firebird has addressed this issue in the fixed releases: version 5.0.4, 4.0.7, and 3.0.14. Security practitioners should update affected Firebird installations to one of these versions immediately. Additional details are available in the project's security advisory (GHSA-6crx-4g37-7j49) and release notes on GitHub.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Firebird is an open-source relational database management system. In versions prior to 5.0.4, 4.0.7 and 3.0.14, when processing CNCT_specific_data segments during authentication, the server assumes segments arrive in strictly ascending order. If segments arrive out of order, the Array class's…

more

grow() method computes a negative size value, causing a SIGSEGV crash. An unauthenticated attacker who knows only the server's IP and port can exploit this to crash the server. This issue has been fixed in versions 5.0.4, 4.0.7 and 3.0.14.

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.
T1211 Exploitation for Stealth Stealth
Adversaries may exploit vulnerabilities to evade detection by hiding activity, suppressing logging, or operating within trusted or unmonitored components.
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-2023-38084Shared CWE-119, CWE-787
CVE-2025-9732Shared CWE-119, CWE-787
CVE-2023-28410Shared CWE-119, CWE-787
CVE-2024-22391Shared CWE-119, CWE-787
CVE-2024-11538Shared CWE-119, CWE-787
CVE-2023-37282Shared CWE-119, CWE-787
CVE-2023-1729Shared CWE-119, CWE-787
CVE-2023-32887Shared CWE-119, CWE-787
CVE-2023-21663Shared CWE-119, CWE-787
CVE-2023-38649Shared CWE-119, CWE-787

Affected Assets

firebirdsql
firebird
≤ 3.0.14 · 4.0.0 — 4.0.7 · 5.0.0 — 5.0.4

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V17.3.2

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Developer testing and evaluation (including fuzzing and bounds checks) finds out-of-bounds write flaws before deployment.

Requiring documented secure-development standards and tools can mandate bounds-checked coding practices that avoid the weakness.

Secure engineering principles require memory-safe design and coding that structurally avoids buffer-boundary violations.

Input validation directly enforces bounds checking that stops out-of-bounds reads/writes from being introduced or reached.

Memory protection restricts exploitation impact of buffer overflows without eliminating the underlying coding 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 SDLC practices (bounds checking, safe APIs, reviews) directly prevent this class of flaw.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning and code analysis directly surface buffer-boundary flaws.

ID.RA-08 partial match
prevents

Receiving and triaging vulnerability disclosures commonly includes buffer-related reports.

PR.AT-02 partial match
prevents

Developer training on secure coding reduces introduction of memory-buffer errors.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching replaces vulnerable code containing buffer-boundary defects.

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 in development catches out-of-bounds accesses before release, covering most instances of the weakness.

prevents

Secure development lifecycle mandates memory-safety practices that directly prevent buffer-boundary violations.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify memory-safety rules, but do not prescribe implementation details.

prevents

Secure architecture and engineering principles include memory-safe design patterns that mitigate buffer overflows.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe buffer operations, directly eliminating CWE-119.

prevents

Change management can enforce review gates that catch unsafe memory operations before deployment.

References