Executive brief
Netatalk is an open-source implementation of the Apple Filing Protocol (AFP) used to provide file services for macOS clients. A security flaw in the Spotlight search component allows an authenticated user to potentially crash the file service or access sensitive information from the server's memory. This could lead to service disruptions or the exposure of data belonging to other users or the system.
Technical details
A heap out-of-bounds read vulnerability (CWE-125) exists in Netatalk's Spotlight RPC unmarshalling logic. The root cause is a failure to consistently enforce request buffer boundaries while processing client-controlled structure metadata, as the unmarshaller does not properly track the actual buffer length. An authenticated remote attacker can exploit this by sending crafted RPC requests to the afpd process. Successful exploitation can result in the disclosure of adjacent heap data, resource exhaustion, or a crash of the child process. The vulnerability is fixed in version 4.4.3; a workaround is available by disabling Spotlight indexing in the configuration.
Affected products
- Netatalk Netatalk 3.1.0 through 4.4.2
Timeline
- 2026-05-13: disclosed: Initial disclosure date
- 2026-05-21: advisory: NVD publication date
- 2026-05-21: patched: Fixed in version 4.4.3