HIGH · 7.5

CVE-2026-41992

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 executio...

Vulnerability 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

CVSS Score

7.5

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Attack Complexity
LOW
Privileges Required
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
HIGH
Integrity
NONE
Availability
NONE

Affected Products

VendorProductVersions
GnuGzip<= 1.14

Related Weaknesses (CWE)

References

FAQ

What is CVE-2026-41992?

CVE-2026-41992 is a vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.5 (HIGH). 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 executio...

How severe is CVE-2026-41992?

CVE-2026-41992 has been rated HIGH with a CVSS base score of 7.5/10. Review the CVSS metrics above for detailed severity breakdown.

Is there a patch for CVE-2026-41992?

Check the references section above for vendor advisories and patch information. Affected products include: Gnu Gzip.