Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-41503

Memory Safety in Bacnetstack Bacnet Stack 1.4.0 – 1.4.3

Public PoCMemory Safety
Published
24 April 2026
Modified
28 April 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v4 8.7
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:X/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 0.0042 34th percentile
Risk Priority 44 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-41503 is a high-severity Out-of-bounds Read (CWE-125) vulnerability in Bacnetstack Bacnet Stack. Its CVSS base score is 8.7 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 34th 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-8 (Security and Privacy Engineering Principles) — 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-2026-41503 is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in the BACnet Stack, an open-source C library protocol stack for embedded systems implementing the BACnet protocol. The issue affects versions prior to 1.4.3 and resides in the ReadPropertyMultiple (RPM) service property decoder at src/bacnet/rpm.c:344. Specifically, the rpm_decode_object_property() function calls the deprecated decode_tag_number_and_value() function, which lacks a buffer length parameter and reads blindly from the provided pointer. A crafted BACnet/IP packet with a 1-byte property payload containing an extended tag marker (0xF9) triggers a read one byte past the buffer end. The vulnerability impacts deployments enabling the ReadPropertyMultiple confirmed service handler, which is enabled by default in the reference server. It is rated 7.5 on CVSS 3.1 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H) and maps to CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read).

Unauthenticated remote attackers can exploit this vulnerability over the network with low complexity by sending a malicious RPM request featuring a truncated property list. Successful exploitation causes the decoder to access memory beyond allocated buffer boundaries, resulting in crashes and denial-of-service on vulnerable embedded BACnet devices. No privileges, user interaction, or scope change are required, making it accessible to any network-adjacent adversary.

The GitHub security advisory (GHSA-5w2v-mwqj-pr2c) confirms the fix in BACnet Stack version 1.4.3, recommending immediate upgrades for affected deployments. Security practitioners should verify if ReadPropertyMultiple services are exposed and apply the patch, as the service is enabled by default.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

BACnet Stack is a BACnet open source protocol stack C library for embedded systems. Prior to 1.4.3, an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in bacnet-stack's ReadPropertyMultiple service property decoder allows unauthenticated remote attackers to read past allocated buffer boundaries by sending an…

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RPM request with a truncated property list. The vulnerability stems from rpm_decode_object_property() calling the deprecated decode_tag_number_and_value() function at src/bacnet/rpm.c:344, which accepts no buffer length parameter and reads blindly from whatever pointer it receives. A crafted BACnet/IP packet with a 1-byte property payload containing an extended tag marker (0xF9) causes the decoder to read 1 byte past the end of the buffer, leading to crashes on embedded BACnet devices. The vulnerability exists in src/bacnet/rpm.c and affects any deployment that enables the ReadPropertyMultiple confirmed service handler (enabled by default in the reference server). This vulnerability is fixed in 1.4.3.

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-2026-26264Same product: Bacnetstack Bacnet Stack
CVE-2025-66624Same product: Bacnetstack Bacnet Stack
CVE-2026-41475Same product: Bacnetstack Bacnet Stack
CVE-2026-41502Same product: Bacnetstack Bacnet Stack
CVE-2026-21870Same product: Bacnetstack Bacnet Stack
CVE-2026-40279Same product: Bacnetstack Bacnet Stack
CVE-2026-21878Same product: Bacnetstack Bacnet Stack
CVE-2023-51773Same product: Bacnetstack Bacnet Stack
CVE-2026-23406Shared CWE-125
CVE-2025-37846Shared CWE-125

Affected Assets

bacnetstack
bacnet stack
1.5.0 · 1.4.0 — 1.4.3

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Developer testing and evaluation directly finds out-of-bounds read flaws through static analysis, fuzzing, and dynamic bounds checks.

Secure engineering principles require bounds checking and memory-safe constructs that stop out-of-bounds reads from being introduced.

Process isolation confines the effects of an out-of-bounds read to the compromised process.

Input validation rejects malformed indices or lengths that would otherwise cause reads outside buffer bounds.

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 such as bounds checking and memory-safe languages directly prevent out-of-bounds reads.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover instances of out-of-bounds reads after code is deployed.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching replaces vulnerable code containing out-of-bounds read flaws.

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 and acceptance includes fuzzing and static analysis that detect out-of-bounds read defects before release.

A.8.15 Logging partial match
finds

Logging can record evidence of an out-of-bounds read but does not prevent the weakness itself.

prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates input validation and bounds checking that directly prevent out-of-bounds reads.

prevents

Application security requirements include explicit bounds and memory-safety specifications that mitigate buffer over-reads.

prevents

Secure system architecture and engineering principles require memory-safe design patterns and runtime protections against out-of-bounds access.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe pointer arithmetic and mandate bounds-checked reads, eliminating CWE-125.

References