CVE-2020-5212: Nethack

Critical severity, CVSS 9.8. EPSS: 1.1% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

In NetHack before 3.6.5, an extremely long value for the MENUCOLOR configuration file option can cause a buffer overflow resulting in a crash or remote code execution/privilege escalation. This vulnerability affects systems that have NetHack installed suid/sgid and shared systems that allow users to upload their own configuration files. Users should upgrade to NetHack 3.6.5.

Affected products

• Nethack Nethack: before 3.6.5 (fixed in 3.6.5)

Published 2020-01-28. Last modified 2026-06-17.