# CVE-2026-26996: minimatch has a ReDoS via repeated wildcards with non-matching literal in pattern > Attackers can cause denial of service in applications using minimatch by supplying glob patterns with many wildcards, triggering exponential regex backtracking. - **Severity:** High 8.7 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`) - **Exploited in the wild:** Not known - **Login needed:** Not needed - **Attackable:** Over the internet - **Victim action needed:** Not needed - **Fix available:** Yes - **Published:** 20 Feb 2026 - **Updated:** 20 Feb 2026 - **Also known as:** CLEANSTART-2026-CI28358, CLEANSTART-2026-KA65824, CLEANSTART-2026-RC77081, CLSA-2026-1774570937, CLSA-2026-1774657358, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-26996, ECHO-9e51-27fb-ffec, GHSA-3ppc-4f35-3m26, MINI-2f7v-wv4v-874p, MINI-2fr5-p98w-vvhg, MINI-3g6p-5hch-ccg2, MINI-3jv4-mqxw-cmxv, MINI-3rrr-229c-8cr9, MINI-4f5g-f88j-3mqx, MINI-4jw5-c4r6-4mx7, MINI-4pwr-8jw8-23c2, MINI-56rm-qw26-r5cx, MINI-5rw8-m3rf-m5m9, MINI-637w-6gg8-h8h6, MINI-64xp-6xmw-wpqm, MINI-6pm7-mh76-25rf, MINI-6vfh-882g-mff5, MINI-79r4-5v7c-2r3p, MINI-7gfh-wjf8-j349, MINI-7p5p-24f5-83r2, MINI-86hg-5j62-fxhj, MINI-8cm9-6w79-q458, MINI-8pc7-gxcf-m8r3, MINI-924g-r69g-4rqc, MINI-9hg3-vc2v-6rm2, MINI-9qmw-h925-mmcw, MINI-9w7h-3r25-wqvx, MINI-c4rh-gfcp-9xgf, MINI-c64q-vxwr-c34m, MINI-c8h3-65w4-cvm7, MINI-cqcr-m7f7-9v4g, MINI-cqp7-4x78-35mp, MINI-fpc4-2hvx-6c46, MINI-h659-j2r9-9qmq, MINI-h6p5-v2q7-4v4f, MINI-h7cw-q4hg-mxfg, MINI-j57h-wpfr-fv8w, MINI-j877-32wv-fg9c, MINI-jwv5-55jp-382h, MINI-p9ph-5mjj-rwww, MINI-pf83-q82c-5q89, MINI-r22g-q9g9-2hmr, MINI-vfjj-qjrq-qm4g, MINI-vrv7-r6jm-3p3h, MINI-wf3j-7ch4-7fqj, MINI-x5vm-34f5-542r, MINI-x7r8-p7r7-x24p, ROOT-APP-NPM-CVE-2026-26996, SUSE-SU-2026:20967-1, SUSE-SU-2026:20973-1, SUSE-SU-2026:20997-1, SUSE-SU-2026:21111-1, SUSE-SU-2026:21141-1, SUSE-SU-2026:21191-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-26996, openSUSE-SU-2026:20464-1, openSUSE-SU-2026:20469-1, openSUSE-SU-2026:20532-1 ## What is CVE-2026-26996? CVE-2026-26996 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in isaacs minimatch, published on 20 Feb 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim. ### Official description minimatch is a minimal matching utility for converting glob expressions into JavaScript RegExp objects. Versions 10.2.0 and below are vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) when a glob pattern contains many consecutive * wildcards followed by a literal character that doesn't appear in the test string. Each * compiles to a separate [^/]*? regex group, and when the match fails, V8's regex engine backtracks exponentially across all possible splits. The time complexity is O(4^N) where N is the number of * characters. With N=15, a single minimatch() call takes ~2 seconds. With N=34, it hangs effectively forever. Any application that passes user-controlled strings to minimatch() as the pattern argument is vulnerable to DoS. This issue has been fixed in version 10.2.1. Weakness: CWE-1333 (Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-26996? 16 open source packages ship an affected version, including minimatch. It affects 1 product. | Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `minimatch` | npm | All versions | 3.1.3 | | `minimatch` | npm | All versions | 3.1.3 | | `minimatch` | npm | From 10.0.0 | 10.2.1 | | `minimatch` | npm | From 10.0.0 | 10.2.1 | | `minimatch` | npm | From 4.0.0 | 4.2.4 | | `minimatch` | npm | From 4.0.0 | 4.2.4 | | `minimatch` | npm | From 5.0.0 | 5.1.7 | | `minimatch` | npm | From 5.0.0 | 5.1.7 | | `minimatch` | npm | From 6.0.0 | 6.2.1 | | `minimatch` | npm | From 6.0.0 | 6.2.1 | | `minimatch` | npm | From 7.0.0 | 7.4.7 | | `minimatch` | npm | From 7.0.0 | 7.4.7 | | `minimatch` | npm | From 8.0.0 | 8.0.5 | | `minimatch` | npm | From 8.0.0 | 8.0.5 | | `minimatch` | npm | From 9.0.0 | 9.0.6 | | `minimatch` | npm | From 9.0.0 | 9.0.6 | | `cockpit-packages` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 16.0 | All versions | 4-160000.1.1 | | `cockpit-repos` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 16.0 | All versions | 4.7-160000.2.1 | | `cockpit-subscriptions` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 16.0 | All versions | 12.1-160000.3.1 | | `cockpit-packages` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.0 | All versions | 4-160000.1.1 | | `cockpit-repos` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.0 | All versions | 4.7-160000.2.1 | | `cockpit-subscriptions` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.0 | All versions | 12.1-160000.3.1 | | `cockpit-repos` | SUSE:Linux Micro 6.2 | All versions | 4.7-160000.2.1 | | `cockpit-repos` | SUSE:Linux Micro 6.2 | All versions | 4.7-160000.2.1 | | `cockpit-subscriptions` | SUSE:Linux Micro 6.2 | All versions | 12.1-160000.3.1 | | `cockpit-packages` | openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | All versions | 4-160000.1.1 | | `cockpit-repos` | openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | All versions | 4.7-160000.2.1 | | `cockpit-subscriptions` | openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | All versions | 12.1-160000.3.1 | Products: Minimatch Project Minimatch. ## How do I fix CVE-2026-26996? Upgrade minimatch to a fixed version for your release line: 3.1.3, 10.2.1, 4.2.4 or 5.1.7. ## Is CVE-2026-26996 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-26996 in the wild and no public exploit code. ## Other vulnerabilities in isaacs minimatch - [CVE-2026-27903](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-27903/): minimatch has a ReDoS: matchOne() combinatorial backtracking via multiple non-adjacent GLOBSTAR segments (high 7.5) - [CVE-2026-27904](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-27904/): minimatch ReDoS: nested *() extglobs generate catastrophically backtracking regular expressions (high 7.5) - [CVE-2016-10540](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-10540/): Regular Expression Denial of Service in minimatch (high 7.5) ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2026-26996 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2026-26996 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in isaacs minimatch, published on 20 Feb 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim. Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-26996 in the wild and no public exploit code. Affected packages and fixed versions: - minimatch (npm): affected all versions; fixed in 3.1.3 - minimatch (npm): affected all versions; fixed in 3.1.3 - minimatch (npm): affected from 10.0.0; fixed in 10.2.1 - minimatch (npm): affected from 10.0.0; fixed in 10.2.1 - minimatch (npm): affected from 4.0.0; fixed in 4.2.4 - minimatch (npm): affected from 4.0.0; fixed in 4.2.4 - minimatch (npm): affected from 5.0.0; fixed in 5.1.7 - minimatch (npm): affected from 5.0.0; fixed in 5.1.7 - minimatch (npm): affected from 6.0.0; fixed in 6.2.1 - minimatch (npm): affected from 6.0.0; fixed in 6.2.1 - minimatch (npm): affected from 7.0.0; fixed in 7.4.7 - minimatch (npm): affected from 7.0.0; fixed in 7.4.7 Task: 1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies. 2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it. 3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead. 4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why. 5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing. Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-26996/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-26996/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-26996 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-26996 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-26996 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-26996/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.