A stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the Dia diagram editor when processing Network Bus objects from Dia XML project files.
In objects/network/bus.c, bus_load() reads the number of bus handles from the file attribute "bus_handles" using attribute_num_data() without validating an upper bound:
bus->num_handles = attribute_num_data(attr);
When a bus handle is subsequently moved, bus_handle_moved() allocates two temporary arrays on the stack:
parallel = (real *)g_alloca(num_handles * sizeof(real));
perp = (real *)g_alloca(num_handles * sizeof(real));
Because num_handles is fully attacker-controlled via the project file, sufficiently large values (for example 262144 or higher) cause g_alloca() to consume more stack space than the default thread stack limit (typically 8 MB on Linux), resulting in stack overflow, SIGSEGV, and potential stack frame / return-address corruption.
An attacker can embed a Bus object with an excessive bus_handles count in a malicious .dia file. Exploitation requires the victim to open the file in Dia (file dialog, command line, or file association) and trigger handle manipulation (moving a bus handle), which exercises the vulnerable code path.
The identical g_alloca pattern is present in objects/Misc/tree.c (copied from bus.c) and is likely vulnerable to the same class of attack via Tree objects.
Affected versions: Dia 0.98.0 and earlier versions containing this code; issue confirmed on upstream master as of 2026-08-21.
Upstream report: https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/dia/-/issues/581
In objects/network/bus.c, bus_load() reads the number of bus handles from the file attribute "bus_handles" using attribute_num_data() without validating an upper bound:
bus->num_handles = attribute_num_data(attr);
When a bus handle is subsequently moved, bus_handle_moved() allocates two temporary arrays on the stack:
parallel = (real *)g_alloca(num_handles * sizeof(real));
perp = (real *)g_alloca(num_handles * sizeof(real));
Because num_handles is fully attacker-controlled via the project file, sufficiently large values (for example 262144 or higher) cause g_alloca() to consume more stack space than the default thread stack limit (typically 8 MB on Linux), resulting in stack overflow, SIGSEGV, and potential stack frame / return-address corruption.
An attacker can embed a Bus object with an excessive bus_handles count in a malicious .dia file. Exploitation requires the victim to open the file in Dia (file dialog, command line, or file association) and trigger handle manipulation (moving a bus handle), which exercises the vulnerable code path.
The identical g_alloca pattern is present in objects/Misc/tree.c (copied from bus.c) and is likely vulnerable to the same class of attack via Tree objects.
Affected versions: Dia 0.98.0 and earlier versions containing this code; issue confirmed on upstream master as of 2026-08-21.
Upstream report: https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/dia/-/issues/581
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Tue, 25 Aug 2026 12:15:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | A stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the Dia diagram editor when processing Network Bus objects from Dia XML project files. In objects/network/bus.c, bus_load() reads the number of bus handles from the file attribute "bus_handles" using attribute_num_data() without validating an upper bound: bus->num_handles = attribute_num_data(attr); When a bus handle is subsequently moved, bus_handle_moved() allocates two temporary arrays on the stack: parallel = (real *)g_alloca(num_handles * sizeof(real)); perp = (real *)g_alloca(num_handles * sizeof(real)); Because num_handles is fully attacker-controlled via the project file, sufficiently large values (for example 262144 or higher) cause g_alloca() to consume more stack space than the default thread stack limit (typically 8 MB on Linux), resulting in stack overflow, SIGSEGV, and potential stack frame / return-address corruption. An attacker can embed a Bus object with an excessive bus_handles count in a malicious .dia file. Exploitation requires the victim to open the file in Dia (file dialog, command line, or file association) and trigger handle manipulation (moving a bus handle), which exercises the vulnerable code path. The identical g_alloca pattern is present in objects/Misc/tree.c (copied from bus.c) and is likely vulnerable to the same class of attack via Tree objects. Affected versions: Dia 0.98.0 and earlier versions containing this code; issue confirmed on upstream master as of 2026-08-21. Upstream report: https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/dia/-/issues/581 | |
| Title | dia: dia: stack buffer overflow in Bus object via unvalidated handle count in project files | |
| Weaknesses | CWE-121 | |
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