Skip to main content
Menu
CVEs

CVE

Ashlar-Vellum Cobalt code execution via stack overflow in XE file parser

CVE-2026-121744

7.8HighCNA
Exploited
No known exploitation
Fix
No fix listed
Who is exposed
Specific setups only
Published
Last modified
Reference
Last checked
0.22% · 12th percentile
18/100 · provisional
Specific setups only
None on Exploit-DB, Metasploit or GitHub

Summary

Ashlar-Vellum Cobalt has a stack-based buffer overflow in how it parses XE files, which lets an attacker run arbitrary code in the context of the current process. A local attacker can trigger it without logging in, but a user must open a malicious file.

Written by anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5 from the sources below. Verify against them.

Read the original description

Ashlar-Vellum Cobalt XE File Parsing Stack-based Buffer Overflow Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Ashlar-Vellum Cobalt. User interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability in that the target must visit a malicious page or open a malicious file.

The specific flaw exists within the parsing of XE files. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of the length of user-supplied data prior to copying it to a stack-based buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-28172.

cve.now Index

18Pcve.now Index 18 of 100 · methodology v3 · provisional
  • Exploitation?/40Unknown. No CISA SSVC exploitation rating yet
  • Exposure5/25Specific setups only
  • Reach?/20Unknown. No tracked technology or package matched
  • Severity7.8/10CVSS 7.8
  • No patch5/5No patch listed yet

What would change the score

  • Would score about 68 if added to CISA KEV
  • Would score about 63 if CISA's SSVC rates exploitation active
  • Would score about 28 if CISA's SSVC rates it automatable

Check your systems with an agent

Paste this into a coding or ops agent. It checks your systems read-only and reports a table per asset.

Check whether my systems are affected by CVE-2026-121744 (Ashlar-Vellum Cobalt XE File Parsing Stack-based Buffer Overflow Remote Code Execution Vulnerability), using the cve.now data below.

Rules: work read-only. Do not run exploit code, proof-of-concept scripts or scanners that send attack payloads, and do not change any configuration, package, image or deployment. Report findings only.

What cve.now has for CVE-2026-121744 (entry last updated 2026-11-12):
Affected:
- Ashlar-Vellum Cobalt: versions 1204.204
Fixed versions: none listed yet.
Setup: unknown whether the bug needs a non-default feature or setting. Check the advisory.
Attacker needs: local access, no login, a user action.
CISA KEV: CVE-2026-121744 is not listed as of cve.now's last read.
This KEV status is for CVE-2026-121744 only. If you also check another CVE, look up its own KEV status; never assume it from this one.

How to check:
- Installed software: check what is actually running, not what a repo declares. Read the version from each host, container image and Kubernetes node (the binary's version output, the OS package database, image layers), and check whether the conditions above hold there. Distribution packages may carry a backported fix under an older version number; confirm against the distribution's own advisory.

Verify against the linked advisories before concluding, and cite the date you read each one:
- https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-26-870/
Do not conclude an asset is unaffected unless you checked it and the evidence covers both its version and the conditions above. If you could not check something, mark it unknown and say what is missing.

Report a table with one row per asset and these columns: Asset | Version or build | Status (affected, fixed, not applicable, unknown) | Compensating controls | Exposure (internet-facing, internal, none) | Evidence | Next action.

Entry: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-121744
For follow-up questions, use the cve.now MCP server at https://mcp.cve.now/mcp (no authentication), for example execute with name cve.get and arguments {"id": "CVE-2026-121744"}.

Timeline

  1. CVE published
  2. First seen by cve.now

Affected versions

  • Ashlar-Vellum Cobalt

    1204.204

Evidence 3

CVE record · 2

Establishes: The identifier and description.

  1. Record
  2. Record

Other links · 1

  1. Link

Corrections

None so far.

Something wrong on this page? Report an error. Every fix is listed here.

Questions about CVE-2026-121744

Is CVE-2026-121744 being exploited?

It is not in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, and CISA's SSVC assessment does not mark exploitation as active. That does not mean it has not been attacked: vendors and researchers can report attacks before CISA lists them. No public exploit code is tracked.Source: cve.now feed data

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-121744?

Cobalt: version 1204.204.Source: cve.now feed data