VulnerabilityPublished 18 Feb 2026Updated 23 Feb 2026

CVE-2026-2642: ggreer the_silver_searcher · NULL Pointer Dereference

Affects ggreer the_silver_searcherSource CVE Database V5

Public exploit available · CVSS 4.8 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 10:12 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score

4.8Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 6% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P

Base metrics

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Attack Requirements: None
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Vulnerable system confidentiality: None
Vulnerable system integrity: None
Vulnerable system availability: Low
Subsequent system confidentiality: None
Subsequent system integrity: None
Subsequent system availability: None

Threat metrics

Exploit Maturity: POC

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable system is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or through terminal emulation (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., using social engineering techniques to trick a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: The attacker must take no measurable action to exploit the vulnerability. The attack requires no target-specific circumvention to exploit the vulnerability. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable system.
Attack Requirements: None: The successful attack does not depend on the deployment and execution conditions of the vulnerable system. The attacker can expect to be able to reach the vulnerability and execute the exploit under all or most instances of the vulnerability.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker requires privileges that provide basic capabilities that are typically limited to settings and resources owned by a single low-privileged user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges has the ability to access only non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without interaction from any human user, other than the attacker.
Vulnerable system confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the Vulnerable System are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the Subsequent System or all confidentiality impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the Subsequent System or all integrity impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Subsequent System or all availability impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Exploit Maturity: POC: Based on threat intelligence sources each of the following must apply: · Proof-of-concept is publicly available · No knowledge of reported attempts to exploit this vulnerability · No knowledge of publicly available solutions used to simplify attempts to exploit the vulnerability

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v4.0 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 18 Feb 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: evidence found.
CVSS exploit maturity: proof of concept public
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), CVSS vector, the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
ggreerthe_silver_searcher	Affected =2.0 =2.1 =2.2.0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2026-2642, organizations should restrict local access to systems running the_silver_searcher to trusted users only, minimizing the risk of exploitation by unauthorized local actors. Monitoring and alerting on application crashes related to the_silver_searcher can help detect exploitation attempts. Until a patch is released, consider using alternative code searching tools or earlier versions not affected if feasible. Developers and system administrators should avoid running the_silver_searcher with untrusted input or in untrusted environments. Implementing strict user account controls and employing endpoint security solutions can reduce the likelihood of local attackers exploiting this vulnerability. Regularly check for updates from the vendor or community to apply patches promptly once available. Additionally, sandboxing or containerizing the_silver_searcher execution environment may limit the impact of crashes on broader system stability.

Description

A security vulnerability has been detected in ggreer the_silver_searcher up to 2.2.0. The impacted element is the function search_stream of the file src/search.c. The manipulation leads to null pointer dereference. Local access is required to approach this attack. The exploit has been disclosed publicly and may be used. The project was informed of the problem early through an issue report but has not responded yet.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2026-2642 is denial of service through application crashes when the vulnerable function encounters a null pointer dereference. For organizations, this can disrupt development workflows or automated processes relying on the_silver_searcher for code searching and indexing. Since the vulnerability requires local access, the risk is mainly from insider threats or compromised local accounts. There is no indication of data compromise, privilege escalation, or remote exploitation, limiting the broader impact. However, in environments where the_silver_searcher is integrated into CI/CD pipelines or developer tools, repeated crashes could degrade productivity or cause temporary outages. The lack of a patch means organizations must rely on mitigating controls until a fix is available. The vulnerability does not affect confidentiality or integrity but impacts availability of the affected application.

Summary

CVE-2026-2642 identifies a null pointer dereference vulnerability in the open-source code searching tool ggreer the_silver_searcher, specifically in the search_stream function of src/search.c. This flaw occurs when the function improperly handles certain input or state conditions, leading to dereferencing a null pointer and causing the application to crash. The vulnerability affects versions 2.0, 2.1, and 2.2.0. Exploitation requires local access with low privileges, no authentication or user interaction is necessary, and the attack vector is local. The vulnerability can be triggered by a local user running the tool with crafted inputs or in a particular environment that causes the null pointer dereference. While this results in denial of service by crashing the application, it does not appear to allow code execution, privilege escalation, or data leakage. Public disclosure of the exploit details increases the risk of exploitation, although no known exploits in the wild have been reported. The CVSS 4.0 base score is 4.8, reflecting medium severity due to local access requirements and limited impact scope.

References

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