cve.bz

CAPEC-256

SOAP Array Overflow

High severityDetailed pattern

An attacker sends a SOAP request with an array whose actual length exceeds the length indicated in the request. If the server processing the transmission naively trusts the specified size, then an attacker can intentionally understate the size of the array, possibly resulting in a buffer overflow if the server attempts to read the entire data set into the memory it allocated for a smaller array.

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Show the promptExplain the attack pattern CAPEC-256: SOAP Array Overflow: how it unfolds, what it needs and how to prevent and detect it in my systems. Use https://capec.mitre.org/data/definitions/256.html and https://cve.bz/cve/capec/256?via=ask-ai-copy, which lists recent CVEs with the weaknesses it exploits. Cite the sources.

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How the attack unfolds

  1. Explore

    The attacker looks for a way in.

    1. [Identify target application] The adversary identifies a target application to perform the buffer overflow on. In this attack, adversaries look for applications that utilize SOAP as a communication mechanism.

  2. Experiment

    They probe what they found.

    1. [Find injection vector] The adversary identifies an injection vector to deliver the excessive content to the targeted application's buffer.

      1 technique
      • The adversary creates a SOAP message that incorrectly specifies the size of its array to be smaller than the size of the actual content by a large margin and sends it to the application. If this causes a crash or some unintended behavior, it is likely that this is a valid injection vector.

    2. [Craft overflow content] The adversary crafts the content to be injected. If the intent is to simply cause the software to crash, the content need only consist of an excessive quantity of random data. If the intent is to leverage the overflow for execution of arbitrary code, the adversary crafts the payload in such a way that the overwritten return address is replaced with one of the adversary's choosing.

      3 techniques
      • Create malicious shellcode that will execute when the program execution is returned to it.
      • Use a NOP-sled in the overflow content to more easily "slide" into the malicious code. This is done so that the exact return address need not be correct, only in the range of all of the NOPs
      • The adversary will choose a SOAP type that allows them to put shellcode into the buffer when the array is read into the application.

  3. Exploit

    They carry out the attack.

    1. [Overflow the buffer] Using the injection vector, the adversary sends the crafted SOAP message to the program, overflowing the buffer.

Prerequisites

  • The targeted SOAP server must trust that the array size as stated in messages it receives is correct, but read through the entire content of the message regardless of the stated size of the array.

Resources required

  • The attacker must be able to craft malformed SOAP messages, specifically, messages with arrays where the stated array size understates the actual size of the array in the message.

Mitigations

  • If the server either verifies the correctness of the stated array size or if the server stops processing an array once the stated number of elements have been read, regardless of the actual array size, then this attack will fail. The former detects the malformed SOAP message while the latter ensures that the server does not attempt to load more data than was allocated for.

Weaknesses it exploits

  • CWE-805 Buffer Access with Incorrect Length Value

Recent CVEs with these weaknesses

  1. 9.3CVE-2026-119756

    Tasmota through 16.0.0, fixed in commit e97e1e4, contains a heap out-of-bounds write vulnerability in SendReceiveDeviceGroupMessage() that allows unauthenticated attackers on the local network to corrupt heap memory by sending crafted Devi…

  2. 5.9CVE-2026-101185

    OOB read vulnerability in the peripheral module. Impact: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may affect service confidentiality.

  3. 5.8CVE-2026-20011

    Multiple Cisco products are affected by a vulnerability in the Snort 3 SMTP MIME Decoder that could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause the Snort 3 Detection Engine to restart. This vulnerability is due to a lack of error…

  4. 6.3CVE-2021-48019

    Vyper before 0.2.9 deploys forwarder proxies through the built-in create_forwarder_to function that report a fixed 4096-byte RETURNDATASIZE rather than the actual return data size. Calls through these proxies can yield corrupted data when …

  5. 6.5CVE-2026-92159

    F´ (F Prime) is a framework that enables development and deployment of spaceflight and other embedded software applications. Prior to 4.3.0, Svc::TlmPacketizer TlmRecv_handler fixed-slot copy TlmRecv_handler copies val.getSize bytes into e…

  6. 8.3CVE-2025-58774

    AMI APTIOV contains vulnerabilities in BIOS where users may cause “Buffer Access with Incorrect Length Value” by local access. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could lead to buffer overflows, memory corruption, and arbitrary c…

  7. 5.8CVE-2026-20290

    A vulnerability in SSL/TLS certificate parsing in the Snort 2 Detection Engine of Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause the Snort 2 Detection Engine to restart. This…

  8. 5.5CVE-2026-6695

    A flaw was found in GIMP. A remote attacker could exploit this by tricking a user into opening a specially crafted PAA (Paint Shop Pro Array) image file. This vulnerability, a heap-based out-of-bounds write in the decode_lzss() function of…

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