Lucene search
K

Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-31966

🗓️ 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00Reported by TenableType 
nessus
 nessus
🔗 www.tenable.com👁 4 Views

CVE-2026-31966 affects HTSlib; CRAM decode may leak data or crash; fixes in 1.23.1, 1.22.2, 1.21.1.

Related
Refs
Code
ReporterTitlePublishedViews
Family
ATTACKERKB
CVE-2026-31966
18 Mar 202618:58
attackerkb
Circl
CVE-2026-31966
18 Mar 202619:16
circl
CNNVD
HTSlib 输入验证错误漏洞
18 Mar 202600:00
cnnvd
CVE
CVE-2026-31966
18 Mar 202618:58
cve
Cvelist
CVE-2026-31966 HTSlib CRAM reader has out-of-bounds read due to improper validation of input
18 Mar 202618:58
cvelist
Debian CVE
CVE-2026-31966
18 Mar 202618:58
debiancve
EUVD
EUVD-2026-12936
18 Mar 202618:58
euvd
Fedora
[SECURITY] Fedora 44 Update: python-pysam-0.24.0-1.fc44
19 May 202616:20
fedora
Tenable Nessus
Fedora 44 : python-pysam (2026-28858c383e)
19 May 202600:00
nessus
Tenable Nessus
Fedora 45 : bcftools / htslib / samtools (2026-c383d4a134)
19 Mar 202600:00
nessus
Rows per page
#%NASL_MIN_LEVEL 80900
##
# (C) Tenable, Inc.
##

include('compat.inc');

if (description)
{
  script_id(302965);
  script_version("1.6");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"plugin_modification_date", value:"2026/05/22");

  script_cve_id("CVE-2026-31966");

  script_name(english:"Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-31966");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"synopsis", value:
"The Linux/Unix host has one or more packages installed with a vulnerability that the vendor indicates will not be
patched.");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"description", value:
"The Linux/Unix host has one or more packages installed that are impacted by a vulnerability without a vendor supplied
patch available.

  - HTSlib is a library for reading and writing bioinformatics file formats. CRAM is a compressed format which
    stores DNA sequence alignment data. As one method of removing redundant data, CRAM uses reference-based
    compression so that instead of storing the full sequence for each alignment record it stores a location in
    an external reference sequence along with a list of differences to the reference at that location as a
    sequence of features. When decoding CRAM records, the reference data is stored in a char array, and
    parts matching the alignment record sequence are copied over as necessary. Due to insufficient validation
    of the feature data series, it was possible to make the `cram_decode_seq()` function copy data from either
    before the start, or after the end of the stored reference either into the buffer used to store the output
    sequence for the cram record, or into the buffer used to build the SAM `MD` tag. This allowed arbitrary
    data to be leaked to the calling function. This bug may allow information about program state to be
    leaked. It may also cause a program crash through an attempt to access invalid memory. Versions 1.23.1,
    1.22.2 and 1.21.1 include fixes for this issue. There is no workaround for this issue. (CVE-2026-31966)

Note that Nessus relies on the presence of the package as reported by the vendor.");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"see_also", value:"https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-31966");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"see_also", value:"https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-31966");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"solution", value:
"There is no known solution at this time.");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"agent", value:"unix");
  script_set_cvss_base_vector("CVSS2#AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N");
  script_set_cvss_temporal_vector("CVSS2#E:U/RL:U/RC:C");
  script_set_cvss3_base_vector("CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H");
  script_set_cvss3_temporal_vector("CVSS:3.0/E:U/RL:U/RC:C");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cvss4_vector", value:"CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cvss4_threat_vector", value:"CVSS:4.0/E:U");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cvss_score_source", value:"CVE-2026-31966");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"exploitability_ease", value:"No known exploits are available");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"exploit_available", value:"false");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"vendor_unpatched", value:"true");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"vuln_publication_date", value:"2026/03/18");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"plugin_publication_date", value:"2026/03/18");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"plugin_type", value:"local");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:14.04:-:lts");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:-:lts");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.04:-:lts");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:20.04:-:lts");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:22.04:-:lts");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:24.04:-:lts");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:25.10");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"cpe:/o:debian:debian_linux:11.0");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"cpe:/o:debian:debian_linux:12.0");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"cpe:/o:debian:debian_linux:13.0");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"cpe:/o:debian:debian_linux:14.0");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:htslib");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"p-cpe:/a:debian:debian_linux:htslib");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"generated_plugin", value:"current");
  script_end_attributes();

  script_category(ACT_GATHER_INFO);
  script_family(english:"Misc.");

  script_copyright(english:"This script is Copyright (C) 2026 and is owned by Tenable, Inc. or an Affiliate thereof.");

  script_dependencies("ssh_get_info2.nasl", "set_linux_os_id.nasl");
  script_require_keys("Host/cpu", "Host/local_checks_enabled", "global_settings/vendor_unpatched", "Host/OS/identifier");
  script_require_ports("Host/OS/Debian Linux-11", "Host/OS/Debian Linux-12", "Host/OS/Debian Linux-13", "Host/OS/Debian Linux-14", "Host/OS/Ubuntu Linux-14.04", "Host/OS/Ubuntu Linux-16.04", "Host/OS/Ubuntu Linux-18.04", "Host/OS/Ubuntu Linux-20.04", "Host/OS/Ubuntu Linux-22.04", "Host/OS/Ubuntu Linux-24.04", "Host/OS/Ubuntu Linux-25.10");

  exit(0);
}

if (!get_kb_item("global_settings/vendor_unpatched")) exit(0, "Unpatched Vulnerabilities Detection not active.");
if (!get_kb_item("Host/local_checks_enabled")) audit(AUDIT_LOCAL_CHECKS_NOT_ENABLED);
if (empty_or_null(get_one_kb_item("Host/Debian/dpkg-l"))) audit(AUDIT_PACKAGE_LIST_MISSING);

include('linux_unpatched.inc');

var distro_constraints_array = {
  "Debian Linux-11": {
    "package_manager": "dpkg-l",
    "constraints": [
      {
        "release": "11",
        "pkgs": [
          {"reference": "htslib-test"},
          {"reference": "libhts-dev"},
          {"reference": "libhts3"},
          {"reference": "tabix"}
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "Debian Linux-12": {
    "package_manager": "dpkg-l",
    "constraints": [
      {
        "release": "12",
        "pkgs": [
          {"reference": "htslib-test"},
          {"reference": "libhts-dev"},
          {"reference": "libhts3"},
          {"reference": "tabix"}
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "Debian Linux-13": {
    "package_manager": "dpkg-l",
    "constraints": [
      {
        "release": "13",
        "pkgs": [
          {"reference": "htslib-test"},
          {"reference": "libhts-dev"},
          {"reference": "libhts3t64"},
          {"reference": "tabix"}
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "Debian Linux-14": {
    "package_manager": "dpkg-l",
    "constraints": [
      {
        "release": "14",
        "pkgs": [
          {"reference": "htslib-test"},
          {"reference": "libhts-dev"},
          {"reference": "libhts3t64"},
          {"reference": "tabix"}
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "Ubuntu Linux-14.04": {
    "package_manager": "dpkg-l",
    "constraints": [
      {
        "release": "14.04",
        "pkgs": [
          {"reference": "htslib"}
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "Ubuntu Linux-16.04": {
    "package_manager": "dpkg-l",
    "constraints": [
      {
        "release": "16.04",
        "pkgs": [
          {"reference": "htslib"}
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "Ubuntu Linux-18.04": {
    "package_manager": "dpkg-l",
    "constraints": [
      {
        "release": "18.04",
        "pkgs": [
          {"reference": "htslib"}
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "Ubuntu Linux-20.04": {
    "package_manager": "dpkg-l",
    "constraints": [
      {
        "release": "20.04",
        "pkgs": [
          {"reference": "htslib"}
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "Ubuntu Linux-22.04": {
    "package_manager": "dpkg-l",
    "constraints": [
      {
        "release": "22.04",
        "pkgs": [
          {"reference": "htslib"}
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "Ubuntu Linux-24.04": {
    "package_manager": "dpkg-l",
    "constraints": [
      {
        "release": "24.04",
        "pkgs": [
          {"reference": "htslib"}
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "Ubuntu Linux-25.10": {
    "package_manager": "dpkg-l",
    "constraints": [
      {
        "release": "25.10",
        "pkgs": [
          {"reference": "htslib"}
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
};

var distro_constraints_values = linux_unpatched::get_distro_constraints(distro_constraints_arr:distro_constraints_array);
if (empty_or_null(distro_constraints_values)) audit(AUDIT_HOST_NOT, 'affected');
var report = linux_unpatched::check_unpatched_constraints(distro_constraints_values:distro_constraints_values);

if (!empty_or_null(report))
{
  security_report_v4(
      port       : 0,
      severity   : SECURITY_WARNING,
      extra      : report
  );
  exit(0);
}
else
{
  audit(AUDIT_HOST_NOT, 'affected');
}

Data

Build on a solid foundation with Vulners data

We provide the essential building blocks for cybersecurity solutions with comprehensive, structured, and constantly updated vulnerability and exploits data

Api

Power your application with Vulners API

The Vulners REST API offers reliable, high-performance access to vulnerability intelligence, with 99.9% SLA uptime and CDN-backed data delivery for seamless global access

App

Assess and manage vulnerabilities with Vulners tools

Built on top of Vulners' database and SDK, end-user solutions give security professionals and developers lightweight and powerful tools for vulnerability remediation

22 May 2026 00:00Current
5.9Medium risk
Vulners AI Score5.9
CVSS 3.19.1
CVSS 46.9
EPSS0.00022
SSVC
4