CVE-2026-28221
MediumWhat is CVE-2026-28221?
Wazuh is a free and open source platform used for threat prevention, detection, and response. From version 4.8.0 to before version 4.14.4, a stack-based buffer overflow exists in print_hex_string() in wazuh-remoted. The bug is triggered when formatting attacker-controlled bytes using sprintf(dst_buf + 2*i, "%.2x", src_buf[i]) on platforms where char is treated as signed and the compiled code sign-extends bytes before the variadic call. For input bytes such as 0xFF, the formatting can emit "ffffffff" (8 chars) instead of "ff" (2 chars), causing an out-of-bounds write past a fixed 2049-byte stack buffer. The vulnerable path is reachable remotely prior to any agent authentication/registration logic via TCP/1514 when an oversized length prefix causes the “unexpected message (hex)” diagnostic path to run. Additionally, the same unauthenticated oversized-message diagnostic path logs an attacker-controlled hex dump to /var/ossec/logs/ossec.log for each trigger, allowing remote log amplification that can degrade monitoring fidelity and consume disk/I/O. This log amplification is reachable even without triggering the sign-extension overflow (e.g., using bytes < 0x80). This issue has been patched in version 4.14.4.
CVSS Vector Breakdown
CVSS 3.1Exploitable remotely over the network without requiring access to the local system.
No special conditions required. Exploit can be performed reliably and repeatedly.
No authentication required. Any anonymous user can exploit this vulnerability.
No user interaction required. Exploit runs without any victim action.
Exploiting the vulnerability only affects the vulnerable component itself.
No confidentiality impact. Sensitive data is not exposed.
Attacker can modify some data, but scope or consequence is limited.
Reduced performance or intermittent outages, but service remains available.
FAQ
CVE-2026-28221 has a CVSS score of 6.5/10, rated as Medium. Review the affected products list and apply vendor patches.
CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) rates vulnerability severity from 0.0 to 10.0. CVE-2026-28221 scores 6.5/10 (Medium). Scores 9.0–10.0 are Critical, 7.0–8.9 are High, 4.0–6.9 are Medium, and below 4.0 are Low.
The list of devices confirmed to be affected by CVE-2026-28221 is shown in the "Affected Devices" section above. Check your firmware version against the vendor security advisory and apply the latest patch.
Apply the latest firmware or software update from the vendor. Check the References section above for official advisories and patch notes. If no patch is available, consider disabling the affected feature or isolating the device from untrusted networks.