# CVE-2026-96442: Emacs: emacs: arbitrary code execution in flymake mode - **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`) - **Exploited in the wild:** Not known - **Fix available:** Yes - **Published:** 23 Sep 2026 - **Updated:** 27 Oct 2026 - **Also known as:** ALSA-2026:85245, ALSA-2026:90800, AZL-103532, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-96442, GHSA-hmfx-447r-rwh3, OESA-2026-4406, RHSA-2026:85245, RLSA-2026:85245, RLSA-2026:90800, SUSE-SU-2026:23949-1, SUSE-SU-2026:4594-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-96442, openSUSE-SU-2026:11889-1, openSUSE-SU-2026:21974-1 ## What is CVE-2026-96442? CVE-2026-96442 is a high-severity vulnerability in GNU Emacs, published on 23 Sep 2026. ### Official description A code execution flaw was found in Emacs, affecting versions prior to 31.2. The Flymake mode using language backends other than Lisp would execute arbitrary code from the edited file while performing syntax checking. Viewing or editing untrusted files using Emacs could lead to arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the user running Emacs. Weakness: CWE-94 (Improper Control of Generation of Code) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-96442? | Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `emacs` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 1:26.1-15.el8_10.4 | | `emacs-common` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 1:26.1-15.el8_10.4 | | `emacs-filesystem` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 1:26.1-15.el8_10.4 | | `emacs-lucid` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 1:26.1-15.el8_10.4 | | `emacs-nox` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 1:26.1-15.el8_10.4 | | `emacs-terminal` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 1:26.1-15.el8_10.4 | | `emacs` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1:27.2-18.el9_8.3 | | `emacs-common` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1:27.2-18.el9_8.3 | | `emacs-filesystem` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1:27.2-18.el9_8.3 | | `emacs-lucid` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1:27.2-18.el9_8.3 | | `emacs-nox` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1:27.2-18.el9_8.3 | | `emacs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 1:27.2-18.el9_8.3 | | `emacs-common` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 1:27.2-18.el9_8.3 | | `emacs-common-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 1:27.2-18.el9_8.3 | | `emacs-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 1:27.2-18.el9_8.3 | | `emacs-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 1:27.2-18.el9_8.3 | | `emacs-filesystem` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 1:27.2-18.el9_8.3 | | `emacs-lucid` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 1:27.2-18.el9_8.3 | | `emacs-lucid-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 1:27.2-18.el9_8.3 | | `emacs-nox` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 1:27.2-18.el9_8.3 | | `emacs-nox-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 1:27.2-18.el9_8.3 | | `emacs` | Rocky Linux:8 | All versions | 1:26.1-15.el8_10.4 | | `emacs` | Rocky Linux:9 | All versions | 1:27.2-18.el9_8.3 | | `emacs` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-ESPOS | All versions | 27.2-150400.3.34.1 | | `emacs` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-LTSS | All versions | 27.2-150400.3.34.1 | | `emacs` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-ESPOS | All versions | 27.2-150400.3.34.1 | | `emacs` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-LTSS | All versions | 27.2-150400.3.34.1 | | `emacs` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 | All versions | 27.2-150400.3.34.1 | | `emacs` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15 SP7 | All versions | 27.2-150400.3.34.1 | | `emacs` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4-LTSS | All versions | 27.2-150400.3.34.1 | | `emacs` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5-LTSS | All versions | 27.2-150400.3.34.1 | | `emacs` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6-LTSS | All versions | 27.2-150400.3.34.1 | | `emacs` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 16.0 | All versions | 30.2-160000.4.1 | | `emacs` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP4 | All versions | 27.2-150400.3.34.1 | | `emacs` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP5 | All versions | 27.2-150400.3.34.1 | | `emacs` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP6 | All versions | 27.2-150400.3.34.1 | | `emacs` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.0 | All versions | 30.2-160000.4.1 | | `emacs` | openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | All versions | 30.2-160000.4.1 | | `emacs` | openSUSE:Tumbleweed | All versions | 31.1-4.1 | ## How do I fix CVE-2026-96442? Upgrade to a fixed version. ## Is CVE-2026-96442 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-96442 in the wild and no public exploit code. ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2026-96442 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2026-96442 is a high-severity vulnerability in GNU Emacs, published on 23 Sep 2026. Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-96442 in the wild and no public exploit code. Affected product: GNU Emacs. 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-2026-96442/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-96442/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-96442 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-96442 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-96442 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-96442/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.