Intel Hyperscan: Out-of-bounds write in regex matching library enables denial of service
Summary
Hyperscan, a high-performance regular expression matching library by Intel, contains an out-of-bounds write (CWE-787) in versions before v5.4.2.1. An authenticated local user with low privileges can trigger a denial of service, potentially crashing the affected application or process. The attack requires local access and low complexity, and needs no user interaction, but attack requirements must be present. Hyperscan is usually embedded in other software, so exposure depends on which products bundle it.
Affected
- Intel Hyperscan before v5.4.2.1
- Downstream products that bundle Hyperscan: unknown
Fixed in
- Fixed version: not confirmed in the sources available to us; Intel advisory INTEL-SA-01511 could not be read. Check the advisory before treating any version as patched.
Workaround
- No vendor workaround known.
- Restrict local shell and user accounts on hosts running Hyperscan-based software.
Exploitation
- Known exploitation in the wild: no evidence found.
- Public proof of concept: none found. Absence of evidence is not proof that none exists.
Our recommendation
- Inventory systems and applications that bundle Hyperscan.
- Restrict local access on multi-user or shared hosts.
- Check vendor advisories for your products and apply updates once a fixed version is confirmed.
- Monitor the Intel advisory INTEL-SA-01511 for updates.
- Priority: low to medium, unless a product you run bundles Hyperscan on a multi-user host.
Public exploits
PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit and Exploit-DB list nothing for this CVE.
Research sources
- Intel advisory INTEL-SA-01511 intel.com
- Strix CVE-2026-40694 www.strix.ai
- OffSeq radar: Out-of-bounds write in Hyperscan radar.offseq.com
- Hyperscan upstream releases github.com
Researched and written up in English and German by an AI (Claude by Anthropic) based on NVD, CISA, EPSS and the sources listed. The vendor information is authoritative. Researched on 11 Nov 2026, 15:37.
Original description (NVD)
Out-of-bounds write for some Hyperscan before version v5.4.2.1 within Ring 3: User Applications may allow a denial of service. Unprivileged software adversary with an authenticated user combined with a low complexity attack may enable denial of service. This result may potentially occur via local access when attack requirements are present without special internal knowledge and requires no user interaction. The potential vulnerability may impact the confidentiality (low), integrity (low) and availability (high) of the vulnerable system, resulting in subsequent system confidentiality (none), integrity (none) and availability (none) impacts.
Sources
The tracker combines official, freely usable data sources – updated continuously:
- NVD (NIST) – CVEs, rating (CVSS), affected products
- CISA KEV – vulnerabilities confirmed by CISA as actively exploited
- CISA Vulnrichment – CISA assessment (SSVC) in the official CVE record
- FIRST EPSS – probability of exploitation
- Microsoft MSRC – Patch Tuesday: vulnerabilities, severity, updates
- PoC-in-GitHub – public proof-of-concept repositories
- Metasploit (Rapid7) – modules of the Metasploit Framework
- Exploit-DB (OffSec) – archive of public exploits (links only)
- Patch days: official vendor pages (linked per vendor) (Vendor patch days)
This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS data © FIRST.org.
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