CVE-2026-85508
Description
A stack-based buffer overflow exists in FreeIPMI's ipmi-oem tool, in the Dell OEM handler for the get-system-info cmc-ipv6-info subcommand. The vulnerable function _output_dell_system_info_cmc_ipv6_info uses a 256-byte stack buffer but allows up to 65536 bytes of data to be copied from a BMC response without proper bounds checking.
Statement
This flaw has limited practical impact for several reasons: (1) ipmi-oem is a client-side command-line tool run manually by administrators, not a listening service or daemon — exploitation requires a user to actively run the specific Dell OEM subcommand against a compromised or malicious BMC; (2) IPMI communication typically occurs over a dedicated out-of-band management network, not the general Internet; (3) Red Hat Enterprise Linux builds FreeIPMI with full hardening enabled (_hardened_build 1), including stack protector (-fstack-protector-strong), which detects stack buffer corruption and terminates the process before the return address can be hijacked — effectively limiting the impact to a client-side crash rather than code execution; (4) additional mitigations including PIE, full RELRO, and NX further hinder exploitation even if the stack canary were bypassed. Fix is available in FreeIPMI version 1.6.19.
Mitigation
Do not run ipmi-oem dell get-system-info subcommands (specifically idrac-info, cmc-info, and cmc-ipv6-info) against untrusted or unverified BMC endpoints. Restrict IPMI management network access to trusted administrators and trusted BMC controllers only. If the ipmi-oem Dell OEM subcommands are not needed, avoid using them entirely.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 7.5 | N/A | 9.8 |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | Network |
| Attack Complexity | High | N/A | Low |
| Privileges Required | None | N/A | None |
| User Interaction | Required | N/A | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | High | N/A | High |
| Integrity Impact | High | N/A | High |
| Availability Impact | High | N/A | High |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Availability
Technical Impact: Modify Memory; DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart; DoS: Resource Consumption (CPU); DoS: Resource Consumption (Memory)
Buffer overflows generally lead to crashes. Other attacks leading to lack of availability are possible, including putting the program into an infinite loop.
Integrity,Confidentiality,Availability,Access Control
Technical Impact: Modify Memory; Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; Bypass Protection Mechanism
Buffer overflows often can be used to execute arbitrary code, which is usually outside the scope of a program's implicit security policy.
Integrity,Confidentiality,Availability,Access Control,Other
Technical Impact: Modify Memory; Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; Bypass Protection Mechanism; Other
When the consequence is arbitrary code execution, this can often be used to subvert any other security service.
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