nanoMODBUS up to 1.22.0 nanomodbus.c recv_read_registers_res byte_count buffer overflow

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability identified as critical has been detected in nanoMODBUS up to 1.22.0. This affects the function recv_read_registers_res of the file nanomodbus.c. This manipulation of the argument byte_count causes buffer overflow. This vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2026-29972. The attack is possible to be carried out remotely. No exploit exists.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical was found in nanoMODBUS up to 1.22.0. Affected by this vulnerability is the function recv_read_registers_res of the file nanomodbus.c. The manipulation of the argument byte_count with an unknown input leads to a buffer overflow vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-120. The product copies an input buffer to an output buffer without verifying that the size of the input buffer is less than the size of the output buffer, leading to a buffer overflow. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

nanoMODBUS through v1.22.0 has a stack-based buffer overflow in recv_read_registers_res() in nanomodbus.c. When a client calls nmbs_read_holding_registers() or nmbs_read_input_registers(), the library writes register data from the server response to the caller-provided buffer based on the response's byte_count field before validating that byte_count matches the requested quantity. A malicious Modbus TCP server can send a response with byte_count=250 (125 registers) regardless of the requested quantity, causing up to 248 bytes of attacker-controlled data to overflow the buffer, potentially allowing remote code execution.

It is possible to read the advisory at github.com. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-29972 since 03/04/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be launched remotely. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 05/08/2026).

There is no information about possible countermeasures known. It may be suggested to replace the affected object with an alternative product.

Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Name

• nanoMODBUS

Version

• 1.0
• 1.1
• 1.2
• 1.3
• 1.4
• 1.5
• 1.6
• 1.7
• 1.8
• 1.9
• 1.10
• 1.11
• 1.12
• 1.13
• 1.14
• 1.15
• 1.16
• 1.17
• 1.18
• 1.19
• 1.20
• 1.21
• 1.22.0

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

CVSSv3info

CVSSv2info

Exploitinginfo

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Countermeasuresinfo

Timelineinfo

Sourcesinfo

Entryinfo

Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Discussion