Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-31970

#%NASL_MIN_LEVEL 80900
##
# (C) Tenable, Inc.
##

include('compat.inc');

if (description)
{
  script_id(302926);
  script_version("1.6");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"plugin_modification_date", value:"2026/05/22");

  script_cve_id("CVE-2026-31970");

  script_name(english:"Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-31970");

  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. GZI files are used to index
    block-compressed GZIP [BGZF] files. In the GZI loading function, `bgzf_index_load_hfile()`, it was
    possible to trigger an integer overflow, leading to an under- or zero-sized buffer being allocated to
    store the index. Sixteen zero bytes would then be written to this buffer, and, depending on the result of
    the overflow the rest of the file may also be loaded into the buffer as well. If the function did attempt
    to load the data, it would eventually fail due to not reading the expected number of records, and then try
    to free the overflowed heap buffer. Exploiting this bug causes a heap buffer overflow. If a user opens a
    file crafted to exploit this issue, it could lead to the program crashing, or overwriting of data and heap
    structures in ways not expected by the program. It may be possible to use this to obtain arbitrary code
    execution. Versions 1.23.1, 1.22.2 and 1.21.1 include fixes for this issue. The easiest work-around is to
    discard any `.gzi` index files from untrusted sources, and use the `bgzip -r` option to recreate them.
    (CVE-2026-31970)

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-2026-31970");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"see_also", value:"https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-31970");
  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:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P");
  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:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/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:P/VC:N/VI:H/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-2026-31970");

  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');
}