Global Buffer Overflow in GNU gzip
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- None
- Impact type
- Information disclosure
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · None · None
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 6 fixed, 4 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-126 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
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 commits 63dbf6b3b9e6e781df1a6a64e609b10e23969681 and e7378c2d421be6a286922374425680bbe9ad8b7d.
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-2026:37764 Released 2026-07-10 · Red Hat rating LowRed Hat Hardened Images RPMs Security Update
- Red Hat Hardened Images gzip-1.14-2.3.hum1@aarch64, gzip-1.14-2.3.hum1@src, gzip-1.14-2.3.hum1@x86_64
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. 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 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-2026:37764, 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-2026-41992
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-qxh4-rprf-2mmj
- 2026-10-09 Fix available: RHSA-2026:79717 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-09 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
Patch 2
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-2005-01163 Directory traversal vulnerability in gunzip -N in gzip 1.2.4 through 1.3.5 allows remote… CVSS 2.0MEDIUM 5.0
Sources
- CVE-2026-41992 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-41992 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-qxh4-rprf-2mmj · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-41992 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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