📄 Description (English)
Flat Assembler 1.71.21 contains a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability that allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code by supplying oversized input to the application. Attackers can craft malicious assembly input exceeding 5895 bytes to overwrite the instruction pointer and execute return-oriented programming chains for shell command execution.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
CVE-2017-20228 is a critical stack-based buffer overflow in Flat Assembler 1.71.21 that allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code through oversized assembly input exceeding 5895 bytes. With CVSS 8.4 and publicly available exploits, this vulnerability poses significant risk to development environments and build systems in Saudi organizations. No official patch is available, requiring immediate compensating controls and version upgrades.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: Apr 24, 2026 06:59
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
This vulnerability primarily impacts Saudi technology companies, software development firms, and government IT departments that utilize Flat Assembler in development pipelines. High-risk sectors include: (1) Government/NCA — development environments for critical systems; (2) Banking/SAMA — fintech development and secure coding environments; (3) Telecommunications/STC — embedded systems and firmware development; (4) Energy/ARAMCO — industrial control system development; (5) Defense contractors — weapons system development. Local privilege escalation risk is severe in shared development environments and build servers common in Saudi enterprises.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Government/NCA
Banking/SAMA
Telecommunications/STC
Energy/ARAMCO
Defense Contractors
Software Development Companies
Technology Consulting Firms
Academic Institutions
🎯 MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
7.8
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:
1. Identify all systems running Flat Assembler 1.71.21 or earlier versions through asset inventory and software audits
2. Restrict local access to systems running vulnerable versions using principle of least privilege
3. Isolate development machines from production networks
4. Disable Flat Assembler if not actively required
PATCHING GUIDANCE:
1. Upgrade to Flat Assembler version 1.71.22 or later (verify patch availability from official repository)
2. If upgrade unavailable, migrate to alternative assemblers (NASM, YASM, GNU AS)
3. Implement version pinning in build systems to prevent accidental downgrades
COMPENSATING CONTROLS:
1. Implement strict input validation: reject assembly files exceeding 5000 bytes without legitimate justification
2. Run Flat Assembler in sandboxed/containerized environments with restricted capabilities
3. Deploy AppArmor or SELinux profiles limiting process capabilities
4. Monitor process execution: alert on Flat Assembler spawning shell commands
5. Implement code review processes for all assembly input sources
6. Use file integrity monitoring on Flat Assembler binary and configuration files
DETECTION RULES:
1. Monitor for Flat Assembler processes with command-line arguments containing files >5000 bytes
2. Alert on Flat Assembler child processes executing /bin/sh, /bin/bash, or system() calls
3. Track stack canary violations or segmentation faults from Flat Assembler
4. Log all local user access to development systems running Flat Assembler
5. Monitor for ROP gadget execution patterns following Flat Assembler crashes
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. تحديد جميع الأنظمة التي تقوم بتشغيل Flat Assembler 1.71.21 أو الإصدارات الأقدم من خلال جرد الأصول والتدقيق في البرامج
2. تقييد الوصول المحلي للأنظمة التي تقوم بتشغيل الإصدارات الضعيفة باستخدام مبدأ أقل امتياز
3. عزل أجهزة التطوير عن شبكات الإنتاج
4. تعطيل Flat Assembler إذا لم يكن مطلوباً بنشاط
إرشادات التصحيح:
1. الترقية إلى Flat Assembler الإصدار 1.71.22 أو أحدث (تحقق من توفر التصحيح من المستودع الرسمي)
2. إذا كان الترقية غير متاحة، انتقل إلى مجمعات بديلة (NASM, YASM, GNU AS)
3. تنفيذ تثبيت الإصدار في أنظمة البناء لمنع الترقيات العكسية العرضية
الضوابط التعويضية:
1. تنفيذ التحقق الصارم من الإدخال: رفض ملفات التجميع التي تتجاوز 5000 بايت بدون تبرير شرعي
2. تشغيل Flat Assembler في بيئات معزولة/محتوية مع قدرات مقيدة
3. نشر ملفات AppArmor أو SELinux التي تحد من قدرات العملية
4. مراقبة تنفيذ العملية: تنبيه عند قيام Flat Assembler بتنفيذ أوامر shell
5. تنفيذ عمليات مراجعة الكود لجميع مصادر إدخال التجميع
6. استخدام مراقبة سلامة الملفات على ملف Flat Assembler الثنائي وملفات التكوين
قواعد الكشف:
1. مراقبة عمليات Flat Assembler مع معاملات سطر الأوامر التي تحتوي على ملفات >5000 بايت
2. تنبيه عند قيام عمليات فرعية Flat Assembler بتنفيذ /bin/sh أو /bin/bash أو استدعاءات system()
3. تتبع انتهاكات canary المكدس أو أخطاء التقسيم من Flat Assembler
4. تسجيل جميع وصول المستخدمين المحليين إلى أنظمة التطوير التي تقوم بتشغيل Flat Assembler
5. مراقبة أنماط تنفيذ ROP gadget التالية لأعطال Flat Assembler
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
ECC 2024 A.5.1.1 — Access Control: Restrict local access to vulnerable development systems
ECC 2024 A.5.2.1 — User Access Management: Implement least privilege for development environments
ECC 2024 A.8.1.1 — Asset Management: Maintain inventory of Flat Assembler installations
ECC 2024 A.12.2.1 — Change Management: Control version updates and patches
ECC 2024 A.12.6.1 — Malware Protection: Monitor for code execution anomalies
🔵 SAMA CSF
SAMA CSF ID.AM-1 — Asset Management: Identify and catalog all Flat Assembler instances
SAMA CSF PR.AC-1 — Access Control: Enforce least privilege on development systems
SAMA CSF PR.PT-1 — Protection Processes: Implement input validation and sandboxing
SAMA CSF DE.CM-1 — Detection and Analysis: Monitor for exploitation attempts
SAMA CSF RS.MI-1 — Response Mitigation: Isolate compromised development systems
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
ISO 27001:2022 A.5.1 — Policies for information security: Establish secure development policies
ISO 27001:2022 A.5.2 — Information security roles and responsibilities: Define development security roles
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.1 — Asset management: Maintain asset inventory including development tools
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.2 — Data classification: Classify development environment data
ISO 27001:2022 A.12.2 — Change management: Control software version changes
ISO 27001:2022 A.12.6 — Management of technical vulnerabilities: Patch and upgrade procedures
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0.1
PCI DSS 6.2 — Ensure all system components and software are protected from known vulnerabilities
PCI DSS 6.3 — Develop and maintain secure development practices
PCI DSS 11.2 — Run automated vulnerability scans on development systems
🔗 References & Sources 3
📦 Affected Products / CPE 1 entries
flatassembler:flat_assembler