CVE-2026-104267randombit botan out-of-bounds write
CVE-2026-104267 is a out-of-bounds write in randombit botan, rated medium (4.1 on CVSS 4.0).
Why this priority: Medium severity, with no exploitation signal.
Published · Updated · NVD status: Received
What it is
Code writes past the end of a buffer, corrupting memory in ways an attacker can often turn into code execution.
How it is reached
An attacker can exploit it by someone who can already run code or sign in on the machine, with an ordinary user account, but someone has to act first, such as opening a file or following a link. Success also depends on conditions the attacker does not fully control.
What an attacker gains
A successful attack can take it offline. In practice, this kind of flaw lets an attacker crash the process, read memory, or in the worst case run code.
Is it being exploited?
There is no public report of exploitation yet.
What to do
- Upgrade randombit botan to 3.13.0 or later.
- Limit who can run code or sign in on the hosts that run it.
- Warn the people who use it, and filter files and links on the way in.
Description from NVD
Botan is a C++ cryptography library. From 2.7.0 until 3.13.0, Botan's Scrypt implementation on 32-bit platforms computes required memory with unchecked multiplication, allowing attacker-controlled Scrypt parameters to wrap the allocation size and create a buffer smaller than the algorithm subsequently writes. The issue affects systems that enable Scrypt and accept arbitrary parameters from a hostile source, including applications that decrypt attacker-supplied encrypted private keys. A triggering parameter set can cause approximately four gigabytes of Scrypt output to be written past the allocated heap buffer, immediately crashing the process and causing denial of service. Arbitrary code execution is not demonstrated and appears difficult, but cannot be excluded from the overwrite primitive. This issue is fixed in version 3.13.0.
What this means for your architecture.
A CVE names a product. Whether it matters depends on where that product sits in your systems: what reaches it, which trust boundary it guards and what it can reach once compromised. Veriom maps your components, their relationships and your trust boundaries from your code, cloud and delivery evidence, so you can see where a component like this sits. The radar itself does not look at your systems.
Components it touches
- Native code: operating systems, browsers and firmware. The flaw sits wherever native code reads untrusted data.
- Network appliances and media or file parsers. The flaw sits wherever native code reads untrusted data.
Trust boundaries in play
- Host boundary. The attacker needs a foothold on the machine first; the flaw turns a small foothold into a bigger one.
- People who open files and links. Mail, chat and browsers are the delivery path.
- Wherever native code reads untrusted data. An attacker who crosses it can crash the process, read memory, or in the worst case run code.
Questions to answer about your own systems
- Where does randombit botan run in your systems, and at which version?
- Which of those hosts also run code or users you do not fully trust?
- What can it reach once compromised: which data stores, secrets and services?
Sources
- CVE records and CVSS scores from the NVD CVE API. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
- Exploitation status from CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
- Exploit likelihood from FIRST’s Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), refreshed daily.
- Explanations are written by Veriom from fixed templates over each record’s data, not by a person reviewing each CVE. Descriptions are quoted from the records as published.