Predictable Temporary File in GNU gzip
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Passive
- Attack complexity
- High
- Attack requirements
- Present
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · Low · None
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 6 fixed, 5 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
GNU gzip contains a vulnerability in the gzexe utility related to insecure temporary file handling. When the mktemp utility is not available in the user’s PATH, gzexe falls back to constructing a temporary file path based solely on the process ID (PID). This predictable filename is created without exclusive access or existence checks. A local attacker can pre‑create the predicted temporary file path as a symbolic link pointing to an arbitrary file writable by the victim. When gzexe runs, it follows the symlink and overwrites the target file, resulting in a time‑of‑check to time‑of‑use (TOCTOU) condition that allows arbitrary file overwrite. This issue has been fixed in the commit 4e6f8b24ab823146ab8776f0b7fe486ab34d4269
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
Remediation
Red Hat 7 advisories
- RHSA-2026:79717 Released 2026-10-08 · Red Hat rating ModerateRed Hat Hardened Images RPMs Security Update
- Red Hat Hardened Images gzip-1.15-1.hum1@aarch64, gzip-1.15-1.hum1@src, gzip-1.15-1.hum1@x86_64
- RHSA-2026:66018 Released 2026-09-09 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat Update Infrastructure 5.3 security update
- Red Hat Update Infrastructure 5 registry.redhat.io/rhui5/cds-kubernetes-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/rhui5/cds-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/rhui5/haproxy-rhel9 +2
- RHSA-2026:65998 Released 2026-09-09 · Red Hat rating Moderategzip security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) gzip-1.9-15.el8_10
Show 4 more Red Hat advisories
- RHSA-2026:61783 Released 2026-08-31 · Red Hat rating ImportantA Subscription Management tool for finding and reporting Red Hat product usage
- Red Hat Discovery 2 registry.redhat.io/discovery/discovery-server-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/discovery/discovery-ui-rhel9
- RHSA-2026:61623 Released 2026-08-31 · Red Hat rating Moderategzip security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) gzip-1.12-2.el9_8
- RHSA-2026:61625 Released 2026-08-31 · Red Hat rating Moderategzip security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 10) gzip-1.13-4.el10_2
- RHSA-2026:33771 Released 2026-06-30 · Red Hat rating ModerateRed Hat Hardened Images RPMs Security Update
- Red Hat Hardened Images gzip-1.14-2.2.hum1@aarch64, gzip-1.14-2.2.hum1@src, gzip-1.14-2.2.hum1@x86_64
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift Dev Spaces | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Discovery 2 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:61783 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:61625 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:65998 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:61623 |
| Red Hat Hardened Images | Fixed | RHSA-2026:33771, RHSA-2026:79717 |
| Red Hat Update Infrastructure 5 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:66018 |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Discovery 2
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-41991
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-67v8-88jf-4x6q
- 2026-10-09 Fix available: RHSA-2026:79717 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-09 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-11-06 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
More GNU Gzip vulnerabilities
- TI-2022-01156 Improper input validation in gzip, xz-utils CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2004-00544 gzexe in gzip 1.3.3 and earlier will execute an argument when the creation of a temp file… CVSS 2.0HIGH 10.0
- TI-2010-00001 Integer underflow in the unlzw function in unlzw.c in gzip before 1.4 on 64-bit… CVSS 2.0MEDIUM 6.8
- TI-2001-01181 Buffer overflows in gzip 1.3x, 1.2.4, and other versions might allow attackers to execute… CVSS 2.0HIGH 7.5
- TI-2009-02508 The huft_build function in inflate.c in gzip before 1.3.13 creates a hufts (aka huffman)… CVSS 2.0MEDIUM 6.8
- TI-2026-30386 Global Buffer Overflow in GNU gzip CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 6.9
Sources
- CVE-2026-41991 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-41991 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-67v8-88jf-4x6q · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-41991 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences