UBUNTU-CVE-2026-56288
GNU patch contains a vulnerability where processing a specially crafted unified-diff patch file can cause a NULL pointer dereference. This occurs due to improper handling of consecutive end-of-file newline markers, which corrupts internal hunk data structures and leads to a NULL pointer passed to fwrite(). The resulting crash causes a denial of service. This issue has been fixed in a specific commit.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
The GNU patch utility is vulnerable to a NULL pointer dereference triggered by a maliciously crafted unified-diff patch file. The vulnerability arises from improper handling of consecutive end-of-file newline markers, which corrupt internal hunk data structures. This corruption causes the application to pass a NULL pointer to fwrite() during patch processing, leading to a crash and denial of service. The vulnerability affects multiple specific versions of the patch utility as listed. The issue has been addressed and fixed in commit e6d6a4e021660679d7fc9150f981d4920f722313.
Potential Impact
An attacker can cause the GNU patch utility to crash by supplying a specially crafted patch file, resulting in denial of service. There is no indication of code execution or data corruption beyond the crash. No known exploits are reported in the wild.
Mitigation Recommendations
A fix is available and has been applied in the commit e6d6a4e021660679d7fc9150f981d4920f722313. Users should upgrade to patched versions of GNU patch that include this fix. The affected versions are explicitly listed and should be considered vulnerable until updated.
UBUNTU-CVE-2026-56288
Description
GNU patch contains a vulnerability where processing a specially crafted unified-diff patch file can cause a NULL pointer dereference. This occurs due to improper handling of consecutive end-of-file newline markers, which corrupts internal hunk data structures and leads to a NULL pointer passed to fwrite(). The resulting crash causes a denial of service. This issue has been fixed in a specific commit.
CVSS v4.0
Affected software
pkg:deb/ubuntu/[email protected]+esm1?arch=source&distro=esm-infra-legacy/trustypkg:deb/ubuntu/[email protected]?arch=source&distro=xenialpkg:deb/ubuntu/[email protected]?arch=source&distro=bionicpkg:deb/ubuntu/[email protected]?arch=source&distro=jammypkg:deb/ubuntu/[email protected]?arch=source&distro=noblepkg:deb/ubuntu/[email protected]?arch=source&distro=questingpkg:deb/ubuntu/[email protected]?arch=source&distro=resoluteRun on your own infrastructure? Check whether these packages are installed with threat-finder — our free open-source scanner.
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
The GNU patch utility is vulnerable to a NULL pointer dereference triggered by a maliciously crafted unified-diff patch file. The vulnerability arises from improper handling of consecutive end-of-file newline markers, which corrupt internal hunk data structures. This corruption causes the application to pass a NULL pointer to fwrite() during patch processing, leading to a crash and denial of service. The vulnerability affects multiple specific versions of the patch utility as listed. The issue has been addressed and fixed in commit e6d6a4e021660679d7fc9150f981d4920f722313.
Potential Impact
An attacker can cause the GNU patch utility to crash by supplying a specially crafted patch file, resulting in denial of service. There is no indication of code execution or data corruption beyond the crash. No known exploits are reported in the wild.
Mitigation Recommendations
A fix is available and has been applied in the commit e6d6a4e021660679d7fc9150f981d4920f722313. Users should upgrade to patched versions of GNU patch that include this fix. The affected versions are explicitly listed and should be considered vulnerable until updated.
Technical Details
- Gcve Source
- db.gcve.eu
- Osv Id
- UBUNTU-CVE-2026-56288
- Osv Schema Version
- 1.7.0
- Aliases
- []
- Ecosystems
- ["Ubuntu:Pro:14.04:LTS","Ubuntu:16.04:LTS","Ubuntu:18.04:LTS","Ubuntu:20.04:LTS","Ubuntu:22.04:LTS","Ubuntu:24.04:LTS","Ubuntu:25.10","Ubuntu:26.04:LTS"]
- Database Specific Severity
- null
- Cvss Version
- 4.0
Threat ID: 6a58b47468715ace43d8d348
Added to database: 07/16/2026, 10:37:40 UTC
Last enriched: 07/16/2026, 11:48:03 UTC
Last updated: 07/31/2026, 19:24:46 UTC
Views: 8
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