# CVE-2026-75819: Out-of-bounds Read in GNU Aspell

> An attacker can cause heap memory disclosure or application crash in GNU Aspell by providing a crafted dictionary file.

- **Severity:** Low 1.8 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:L/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 6 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 6 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-105972, BELL-CVE-2026-75819, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-75819, ECHO-a5a6-a855-4b5d, GHSA-5c9p-3r63-49hf, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-75819

## What is CVE-2026-75819?

CVE-2026-75819 is a low-severity vulnerability in GNU Aspell, published on 6 Oct 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

GNU Aspell contains an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in ReadOnlyDict::load() in readonly_ws.cpp. When loading a binary .rws dictionary file, it uses offset fields from the file header as byte indices into a heap buffer without validating their bounds. An attacker can trigger this by convincing a user to run aspell with a crafted dictionary file supplied through --master, --dict-dir, or configuration options, leading to heap memory disclosure or a denial of service via application crash.

This issue was fixed in commit 941953b25031bc9104e83f58e138a664b8dedc3f which will be released in version 0.60.8.3.

Weakness: CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-75819?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-75819?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2026-75819 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-75819 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-75819 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-75819 is a low-severity vulnerability in GNU Aspell, published on 6 Oct 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-75819 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: GNU Aspell. 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-2026-75819/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-75819/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-75819
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-75819
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-75819

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-75819/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.