CVE-2026-103658 Memory corruption in Aspell
A heap-based buffer overflow in GNU Aspell allows attackers to cause denial of service or execute code by tricking users into loading a malicious dictionary file.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-103658?
CVE-2026-103658 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in GNU Aspell, published on 12 Oct 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
GNU Aspell 0.60.8.2 (first vulnerable version is not known) contains a heap-based buffer overflow write (CWE-122) in its read-only dictionary loader. String::reserve() in common/string.hpp computes its capacity check with a signed int ((int)s + 1), so a requested size of 0x7FFFFFFF wraps negative and the backing buffer is never grown. ReadOnlyDict::load() in modules/speller/default/readonly_ws.cpp passes the unvalidated 32-bit size fields from a .rws dictionary header into this path, so a crafted .rws file with a valid endian marker (12345678) and an oversized length field (e.g. lang_name_size = 0x7FFFFFFF) causes attacker-controlled data to be written out of bounds past an undersized heap allocation. An attacker who induces a victim to load a malicious dictionary — for example via aspell dump master <file> — can corrupt heap memory, resulting in denial of service and potentially code execution. Fixed in b830b6e and will be fixed in release 0.60.8.3.
Weakness: CWE-122
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-103658?
Linux distribution packages (1)
aspell openSUSE:Tumbleweed | All versions | 0.60.8.2-3.1 |
How do I fix CVE-2026-103658?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.
Is CVE-2026-103658 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-103658 exists.
Sources
Also known as AZL-108060, BELL-CVE-2026-103658, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-103658, ECHO-25af-2f91-edc1, GHSA-p35p-2mw5-fj5j, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-103658 and 1 more.