# CVE-2026-97043: Unexpected code execution via escaped quotes in //go:cgo_ldflag in cmd/go and cmd/compile


- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 11 Nov 2026
- **Updated:** 11 Nov 2026
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2026-97043, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97043, GHSA-26gx-chjm-8pq7, GO-2026-6848, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97043

## What is CVE-2026-97043?

CVE-2026-97043 is a vulnerability in Go toolchain cmd/compile, published on 11 Nov 2026. 

### Official description

Building a malicious package that uses cgo could bypass "#cgo LDFLAGS" validation and cause unexpected code execution at build time, or cause the go command to panic, via crafted quoting in "//go:cgo_ldflag" directives. When "cmd/cgo" generates "_cgo_gotypes.go", it quotes each "#cgo LDFLAGS" argument with strconv.Quote in a "//go:cgo_ldflag" directive, but "cmd/compile" and "cmd/go" parsed those directives by splitting on raw quote characters without handling backslash escapes or unquoting the string. This mismatch allowed disallowed linker flags or unvalidated linker search paths to be smuggled past the go command's flag checks and passed to the external linker. In addition, deduplicating LDFLAGS in the go command could panic with an out-of-bounds slice index when a prefix of the flag list matched near the end of the slice. "cmd/compile" and "cmd/go" now properly handle backslash-escaped quotes and unquote "//go:cgo_*" pragma strings with strconv.Unquote, and the slice bounds check in processCgoOutputs has been fixed.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-97043?

1 open source package ship an affected version, including toolchain.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `toolchain` | Go | All versions | 1.26.11, 1.27.4 |

## How do I fix CVE-2026-97043?

Upgrade toolchain to a fixed version for your release line: 1.26.11 or 1.27.4.

## Is CVE-2026-97043 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-97043 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-97043 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-97043 is a vulnerability in Go toolchain cmd/compile, published on 11 Nov 2026. 
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-97043 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- toolchain (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 1.26.11, 1.27.4

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-2026-97043/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-97043/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-97043
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97043
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-97043

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-97043/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.