CAPEC-44

This attack pattern is a variant of standard buffer overflow attack using an unexpected vector (binary files) to wrap its attack and open up a new attack vector. The adversary is required to either directly serve the binary content to the victim, or place it in a locale like a MP3 sharing application for the victim to download. The adversary then is notified upon the download or otherwise locates the vulnerability opened up by the buffer overflow.

How the attack unfolds

1. Explore

   The attacker looks for a way in.

   1. [Identify target software] The adversary identifies software that uses external binary files in some way. This could be a file upload, downloading a file from a shared location, or other means.

2. Experiment

   They probe what they found.

   2. [Find injection vector] The adversary creates a malicious binary file by altering the header to make the file seem shorter than it is. Additional bytes are added to the end of the file to be placed in the overflowed location. The adversary then deploys the file to the software to determine if a buffer overflow was successful.

   3. [Craft overflow content] Once the adversary has determined that this attack is viable, they will specially craft the binary file in a way that achieves the desired behavior. If the source code is available, the adversary can carefully craft the malicious file so that the return address is overwritten to an intended value. If the source code is not available, the adversary will iteratively alter the file in order to overwrite the return address correctly.

      2 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

3. Exploit

   They carry out the attack.

   4. [Overflow the buffer] Once the adversary has constructed a file that will effectively overflow the targeted software in the intended way. The file is deployed to the software, either by serving it directly to the software or placing it in a shared location for a victim to load into the software.

Prerequisites

• Target software processes binary resource files.

• Target software contains a buffer overflow vulnerability reachable through input from a user-controllable binary resource file.

Skills required

• Medium skill

  To modify file, deceive client into downloading, locate and exploit remote stack or heap vulnerability

Consequences

Mitigations

• Perform appropriate bounds checking on all buffers.

• Design: Enforce principle of least privilege

• Design: Static code analysis

• Implementation: Execute program in less trusted process space environment, do not allow lower integrity processes to write to higher integrity processes

• Implementation: Keep software patched to ensure that known vulnerabilities are not available for adversaries to target on host.

Weaknesses it exploits

• CWE-119 Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer
• CWE-120 Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input
• CWE-697 Incorrect Comparison

Recent CVEs with these weaknesses

1. 8.8CVE-2026-1249482026-11-10

   Incorrect boundary conditions, use-after-free in the Graphics component. This vulnerability was fixed in Firefox 160 and Firefox ESR 153.7.

2. 8.8CVE-2026-1249472026-11-10

   Incorrect boundary conditions in the Graphics component. This vulnerability was fixed in Firefox 160.

3. 8.8CVE-2026-1249262026-11-10

   Incorrect boundary conditions in the WebRTC component. This vulnerability was fixed in Firefox 160 and Firefox ESR 153.7.

4. 8.8CVE-2026-1249242026-11-10

   Incorrect boundary conditions in the Graphics: WebRender component. This vulnerability was fixed in Firefox 160 and Firefox ESR 153.7.

5. 8.8CVE-2026-1249182026-11-10

   Privilege escalation due to incorrect boundary conditions in the Graphics: WebRender component. This vulnerability was fixed in Firefox 160 and Firefox ESR 153.7.

6. 8.8CVE-2026-1249152026-11-10

   Incorrect boundary conditions in the Graphics: WebGPU component. This vulnerability was fixed in Firefox 160 and Firefox ESR 153.7.

7. 8.8CVE-2026-1248912026-11-10

   Incorrect boundary conditions in the DOM: Selection component. This vulnerability was fixed in Firefox 160 and Firefox ESR 153.7.

8. 8.8CVE-2026-1248882026-11-10

   Incorrect boundary conditions in the Layout: Text and Fonts component. This vulnerability was fixed in Firefox 160 and Firefox ESR 153.7.

The newest records naming one of them. Each weakness's page lists them all.

Related attack patterns

Part of

• CAPEC-100 Overflow Buffers
• CAPEC-23 File Content Injection

Examples

MITRE's words, unchanged: CAPEC-44 at MITRE. CAPEC is Copyright © 2007–2026, The MITRE Corporation, used under the CAPEC terms of use: “The MITRE Corporation (MITRE) hereby grants you a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC™) for research, development, and commercial purposes. Any copy you make for such purposes is authorized provided that you reproduce MITRE’s copyright designation and this license in any such copy.” CAPEC and the CAPEC logo are trademarks of The MITRE Corporation. Credits. All attack patterns.