Emacs 21 and XEmacs automatically load and execute .flc (fast lock) files that are…
Priority LOW 36Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- — Not recorded in CVSS 2.0
- Attack complexity
- Medium
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- Partial · Partial · Partial
- Fix status
- Will not fix Red Hat: no fix planned
Attack profile from CVSS 2.0 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
Emacs 21 and XEmacs automatically load and execute .flc (fast lock) files that are associated with other files that are edited within Emacs, which allows user-assisted attackers to execute arbitrary code.
Why it matters now
EPSS 0.03662 89th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Public exploit Yes 1 exploit referenceTagged by NVD
Fix Will not fix Red Hat: no fix planned
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | all versions | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- — Vendor— Affected all versions Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2008-2142
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-6hwc-q43w-j73j
References
Advisory 6
More GNU Emacs vulnerabilities
- TI-2024-36089 In elisp-mode.el in GNU Emacs before 30.1, a user who chooses to invoke… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.8
- TI-2023-12576 emacsclient-mail.desktop in Emacs 28.1 through 28.2 is vulnerable to Emacs Lisp code… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.8
- TI-2022-23951 GNU Emacs through 28.2 allows attackers to execute commands via shell metacharacters in… CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2024-26287 In Emacs before 29.4, org-link-expand-abbrev in lisp/ol.el expands a %(...) link abbrev… CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2007-05829 Stack-based buffer overflow in emacs allows user-assisted attackers to cause a denial of… CVSS 2.0HIGH 10.0
- TI-2017-10588 GNU Emacs before 25.3 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via email with… CVSS 3.0HIGH 8.8
Sources
- CVE-2008-2142 · CVE Program
- CVE-2008-2142 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-6hwc-q43w-j73j · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2008-2142 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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