CVE-2026-79769 Nokogiri before 1.19.4 Invalid Memory Read via initialize_copy_with_args
A programming error in Nokogiri can cause an out-of-bounds memory read and crash the process, requiring an upgrade to fix.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-79769?
CVE-2026-79769 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in sparklemotion nokogiri, published on 25 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
Nokogiri versions before 1.19.4 contain a possible invalid (out-of-bounds) memory read in the protected internal Node#initialize_copy_with_args helper behind Node#dup and #clone, which unwrapped its source argument as an xmlNode without a type check. If application code calls this protected method with a non-Node argument (e.g., a Namespace), it reads an xmlNs out of bounds, crashing the process. This is only triggerable by a programming error and cannot be triggered by untrusted input or normal use of the public API. Only CRuby is affected. Version 1.19.4 adds a type check and raises TypeError.
Weakness: CWE-843
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-79769?
How do I fix CVE-2026-79769?
Upgrade to a fixed version.
Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.
Is CVE-2026-79769 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-79769 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-79769, CLEANSTART-2026-PW98348, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-79769, GHSA-58vh-2xxg-v7j2, GHSA-g9g8-vgvw-g3vf, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-79769.