# CVE-2026-6368: wordexp with WRDE_APPEND can return or use invalid memory

> Calling wordexp with WRDE_APPEND in glibc can return invalid memory, causing a process abort during subsequent wordfree calls.

- **Severity:** Low 2.1 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:L/SC:L/SI:L/SA:L/S:P/AU:Y/U:Green`)
- **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:** 10 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 12 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-95495, BELL-CVE-2026-6368, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-6368, ECHO-1dea-800f-5685, GHSA-cm6j-gmqf-j2cm, MINI-8jj9-cwcg-wpqc, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-6368

## What is CVE-2026-6368?

CVE-2026-6368 is a low-severity memory corruption vulnerability in glibc, published on 10 Aug 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Calling wordexp with WRDE_APPEND in the GNU C Library version 2.0 to version 2.43 can cause the interface to return invalid memory in the we_wordv member, which on subsequent calls to wordfree may abort the process.

Weakness: CWE-908 (Use of Uninitialized Resource)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-6368?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-6368?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2026-6368 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-6368 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-6368 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-6368 is a low-severity memory corruption vulnerability in glibc, published on 10 Aug 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-2026-6368 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: glibc. 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-2026-6368/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-6368/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-6368
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-6368
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-6368

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-6368/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.