Description
EPIC IRC Client (EPIC4) pre2.002, pre2.003, and possibly later versions, allows remote malicious IRC servers to cause a denial of service (crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via a CTCP request from a large nickname, which causes an incorrect length calculation.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗Public exploits
Exploit or proof-of-concept code for this vulnerability is publicly available, which lowers the bar for attackers. Treat it as a reason to patch sooner.
Third-party code, not reviewed by us. Public PoCs are sometimes fake or contain malware. Read the code first and run it only in an isolated lab, against systems you are authorised to test.
Exploit-DB 1
- Epic 1.0.1/1.0.x - CTCP Nickname Server Message Buffer Overrun EDB-23366 · remote · Nov 10, 2003 · verified
Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.
Advisories 2
- DSA-306 ircii-pana - buffer overflows, integer overflow Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- DSA-399 epic4 - buffer overflow Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
References
- DSA-399 vendor-advisory
- DSA-306 vendor-advisory
- RHSA-2003:342 vendor-advisory