Global Buffer Overflow in GNU gzip
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-41992 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | CERT-PL |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-06-29 12:16:29 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-07-01 14:02:20 UTC |
| Description | GNU gzip contains a global buffer overflow vulnerability in the LZH decompression logic caused by improper reuse of shared global state between different decompression formats within a single execution. GNU gzip maintains a global array that is shared across the LZ77, LZW, and LZH decompression routines and is not reinitialized between files processed in the same invocation. By decompressing a specially crafted LZW file followed by a specially crafted LZH file in a single gzip -d command, an attacker can poison the shared global state and subsequently trigger an out‑of‑bounds read in the LZH decoder. The LZH decompression logic follows stale values left in the shared array, causing reads past the end of the allocated global buffer. This issue has been fixed in the commit 63dbf6b3b9e6e781df1a6a64e609b10e23969681 |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v4.0 6.9 MEDIUM from [email protected]
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
EPSS: 0.002940000 probability, percentile 0.211860000 (date 2026-07-03)
Problem Types: CWE-126 | CWE-126 CWE-126: Buffer Over-read
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0 | [email protected] | Secondary | 6.9 | MEDIUM | CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/C... |
| 4.0 | CNA | CVSS | 6.9 | MEDIUM | CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N |
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Primary | 7.5 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N |
CVSS v4.0 Breakdown
Attack Vector
LocalAttack Complexity
LowAttack Requirements
NonePrivileges Required
NoneUser Interaction
NoneConfidentiality
HighIntegrity
NoneAvailability
NoneSub Conf.
NoneSub Integrity
NoneSub Availability
NoneCVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
NetworkAttack Complexity
LowPrivileges Required
NoneUser Interaction
NoneScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
HighIntegrity
NoneAvailability
NoneCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)
Vendor Declared Affected Products
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| www.gnu.org/software/gzip | [email protected] | www.gnu.org | Product |
| cgit.git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/gzip.git/commit | [email protected] | cgit.git.savannah.gnu.org | Patch |
| cert.pl/en/posts/2026/04/CVE-2026-41991 | [email protected] | cert.pl | Broken Link |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
Vendor Comments And Credit
Discovery Credit
CNA: Michał Majchrowicz (AFINE) (en)
CNA: Marcin Wyczechowski (AFINE) (en)
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.