Stack overflow via select() file descriptor set overflow
FreeBSD-SA-26:16.libnv · CVE-2026-39457
Our decision for FreeSense
FreeBSD corrected this on 2026-04-29, before the FreeBSD source pin of every FreeSense version.
- Advisory: corrected 2026-04-29
- FreeSense 1.0 pin: e004ff15f87e (2026-08-03)
- FreeSense 1.1 pin: a52c50b4b7c2 (2026-10-04)
- FreeSense 1.2 pin: a52c50b4b7c2 (2026-10-04)
By FreeSense version
| Version | Status | FreeBSD pin |
|---|---|---|
| FreeSense 1.01.0.7 · frozen, no further fixes | FixedFreeBSD pin of 2026-08-03 | 2026-08-03e004ff15 |
| FreeSense 1.11.1.9 | FixedFreeBSD pin of 2026-10-04 | 2026-10-04a52c50b4 |
| FreeSense 1.21.2.0-DEVELOPMENT | FixedFreeBSD pin of 2026-10-04 | 2026-10-04a52c50b4 |
Workaround
No workaround is available.
What FreeBSD says
When exchanging data over a socket, libnv uses select(2) to wait for data to arrive. However, it does not verify whether the provided socket descriptor fits in select(2)'s file descriptor set size limit of FD_SETSIZE (1024).
Impact
An attacker who is able to force a libnv application to allocate large file descriptors, e.g., by opening many descriptors and executing a program which is not careful to close them upon startup, can trigger stack corruption. If the target application is setuid-root, then this could be used to elevate local privileges.
Excerpt from the FreeBSD advisory. Read the original for the full text and the fix.