Executive brief
VX Search, a rule-based file search application, is vulnerable to a local buffer overflow. An attacker can exploit this by providing a specially crafted, oversized string in the directory search field. If successful, this allows the attacker to take full control of the application and execute unauthorized commands on the underlying system.
Technical details
A classic buffer overflow (CWE-120) exists in VX Search version 10.6.18 and potentially earlier versions. The vulnerability is located in the 'directory' input field, where the application fails to properly validate the length of the input string. A local attacker can exploit this by supplying a malicious string (approximately 271 bytes of padding followed by a return address) to overwrite the instruction pointer (EIP). This allows for arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the application. While the vendor has released newer versions (e.g., v18.x), specific patch confirmation for this 2018-era discovery in the 10.x branch is not explicitly detailed in the provided text, though the vulnerability is noted as affecting versions up to 10.6.18.
Affected products
- Flexense VX Search 10.6.18 and earlier
Timeline
- 2018-04-18: disclosed: Initial exploit code published on Exploit-DB
- 2026-05-17: advisory: NVD and VulnCheck published formal advisory data