arduino-esp32 is an Arduino core for the ESP32, ESP32-S2, ESP32-S3, ESP32-C3, ESP32-C6 and ESP32-H2 microcontrollers. Prior to 3.3.8, the WebServer multipart form parser in arduino-esp32 allocates a Variable Length Array (VLA) on the stack whose size is derived from an attacker-controlled HTTP header field (Content-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary=...) without enforcing any length limit. Sending a boundary string longer than ~8000 characters overflows the 8192-byte task stack of the loopTask, causing a crash and potential remote code execution. This vulnerability is fixed in 3.3.8.
PUBLISHED5.2CWE-121
arduino-esp32: Stack buffer overflow in WebServer multipart boundary parsing leads to remote crash potential RCE
Problem type
Affected products
espressif
arduino-esp32
< 3.3.8 - AFFECTED
References
JSON source
https://cveawg.mitre.org/api/cve/CVE-2026-42854Click to expand
{
"dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
"dataVersion": "5.2",
"cveMetadata": {
"cveId": "CVE-2026-42854",
"assignerOrgId": "a0819718-46f1-4df5-94e2-005712e83aaa",
"assignerShortName": "GitHub_M",
"dateUpdated": "2026-05-12T21:56:33.437Z",
"dateReserved": "2026-04-30T16:44:48.378Z",
"datePublished": "2026-05-12T21:56:33.437Z",
"state": "PUBLISHED"
},
"containers": {
"cna": {
"providerMetadata": {
"orgId": "a0819718-46f1-4df5-94e2-005712e83aaa",
"shortName": "GitHub_M",
"dateUpdated": "2026-05-12T21:56:33.437Z"
},
"title": "arduino-esp32: Stack buffer overflow in WebServer multipart boundary parsing leads to remote crash potential RCE",
"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "arduino-esp32 is an Arduino core for the ESP32, ESP32-S2, ESP32-S3, ESP32-C3, ESP32-C6 and ESP32-H2 microcontrollers. Prior to 3.3.8, the WebServer multipart form parser in arduino-esp32 allocates a Variable Length Array (VLA) on the stack whose size is derived from an attacker-controlled HTTP header field (Content-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary=...) without enforcing any length limit. Sending a boundary string longer than ~8000 characters overflows the 8192-byte task stack of the loopTask, causing a crash and potential remote code execution. This vulnerability is fixed in 3.3.8."
}
],
"affected": [
{
"vendor": "espressif",
"product": "arduino-esp32",
"versions": [
{
"version": "< 3.3.8",
"status": "affected"
}
]
}
],
"problemTypes": [
{
"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"description": "CWE-121: Stack-based Buffer Overflow",
"cweId": "CWE-121",
"type": "CWE"
}
]
}
],
"references": [
{
"url": "https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/security/advisories/GHSA-8cmm-3887-r32j",
"name": "https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/security/advisories/GHSA-8cmm-3887-r32j",
"tags": [
"x_refsource_CONFIRM"
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"metrics": [
{
"cvssV3_1": {
"version": "3.1",
"vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"attackVector": "NETWORK",
"attackComplexity": "LOW",
"privilegesRequired": "NONE",
"userInteraction": "NONE",
"scope": "UNCHANGED",
"confidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
"integrityImpact": "HIGH",
"availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
"baseScore": 9.8,
"baseSeverity": "CRITICAL"
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}
}