CVE-2026-41992

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 v3.1 Score

7.5

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0029

Probability of exploitation

0.21%

Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-126 CWE-126

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
gnu	gzip	< 1.14

References

Advisories & Patches

https://cgit.git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/gzip.git/commit/?id=63dbf6b3b9e6e781df1a6a64e609b10e23969681

Other References

https://cert.pl/en/posts/2026/04/CVE-2026-41991/ https://www.gnu.org/software/gzip/

Frequently Asked Questions

What is 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 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 It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2026-41992? +

CVE-2026-41992 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.5 out of 10, rated HIGH. This is a high-severity vulnerability that should be prioritized for patching. The EPSS score is 0.0029, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.

What products are affected by CVE-2026-41992? +

CVE-2026-41992 affects products from gnu, specifically: gzip. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-41992? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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