# CVE-2026-41992: Global Buffer Overflow in GNU gzip > Attackers can trigger a global buffer overflow in GNU gzip by crafting specific LZW and LZH files, potentially causing crashes or code execution. - **Severity:** Medium 6.9 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`) - **Exploited in the wild:** Not known - **Login needed:** Not needed - **Attackable:** Local or same network only - **Victim action needed:** Not needed - **Fix available:** Yes - **Published:** 29 Jun 2026 - **Updated:** 27 Aug 2026 - **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2026-41992, AZL-91406, BELL-CVE-2026-41992, CLSA-2026-1783416812, CLSA-2026-1783417026, CLSA-2026-1783524887, CLSA-2026-1783588305, CLSA-2026-1783588532, CLSA-2026-1783588603, CLSA-2026-1783588865, CLSA-2026-1783589056, CLSA-2026-1783589413, CLSA-2026-1783632145, CLSA-2026-1783632526, CLSA-2026-1785139899, CLSA-2026-1786976234, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-41992, ECHO-fad9-e6ab-e1e3, GHSA-qxh4-rprf-2mmj, JLSEC-2026-1265, RHSA-2026:37764, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-41992, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-41992, SUSE-SU-2026:23356-1, SUSE-SU-2026:23363-1, SUSE-SU-2026:23392-1, SUSE-SU-2026:23550-1, SUSE-SU-2026:3590-1, SUSE-SU-2026:3592-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-41992, openSUSE-SU-2026:11518-1, openSUSE-SU-2026:21666-1 ## What is CVE-2026-41992? CVE-2026-41992 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in GNU gzip, published on 29 Jun 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim. ### Official 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 commits 63dbf6b3b9e6e781df1a6a64e609b10e23969681 and e7378c2d421be6a286922374425680bbe9ad8b7d. Weakness: CWE-126 (Buffer Over-read) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-41992? It affects 1 product. | Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `gzip` | Red Hat:hummingbird:1 | All versions | 0:1.14-2.3.hum1 | | `gzip` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 | All versions | 1.10-150200.16.1 | | `gzip` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4 | All versions | 1.10-150200.16.1 | | `gzip` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 | All versions | 1.10-150200.16.1 | | `gzip` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 | All versions | 1.10-150200.16.1 | | `gzip` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 16.0 | All versions | 1.13-160000.4.1 | | `gzip` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server LTSS Extended Security 12 SP5 | All versions | 1.10-4.20.1 | | `gzip` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.0 | All versions | 1.13-160000.4.1 | | `gzip` | SUSE:Linux Micro 6.0 | All versions | 1.13-3.1 | | `gzip` | SUSE:Linux Micro 6.1 | All versions | 1.13-slfo.1.1_4.1 | | `gzip` | SUSE:Linux Micro 6.2 | All versions | 1.13-160000.4.1 | | `gzip` | openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | All versions | 1.13-160000.4.1 | | `gzip` | openSUSE:Tumbleweed | All versions | 1.14-3.1 | Products: Gnu Gzip. ## How do I fix CVE-2026-41992? Apply the vendor's patch. ## Is CVE-2026-41992 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-41992 in the wild and no public exploit code. ## Other vulnerabilities in GNU gzip - [CVE-2004-0603](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0603/): Command injection in n/a (critical 10.0) - [CVE-2001-1228](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2001-1228/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 7.5) - [CVE-2009-2624](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-2624/): Memory corruption in n/a (medium 6.8) - [CVE-2010-0001](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-0001/): Integer overflow in n/a (medium 6.8) - [CVE-2005-1228](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2005-1228/): Path traversal in n/a (medium 5.0) ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2026-41992 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2026-41992 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in GNU gzip, published on 29 Jun 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim. Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-41992 in the wild and no public exploit code. Affected product: GNU gzip. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page. 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-2026-41992/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-41992/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-41992 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-41992 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-41992 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-41992/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.