Detections
Analytics

Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-31971

high Nessus Plugin ID 302969

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Synopsis

The Linux/Unix host has one or more packages installed with a vulnerability that the vendor indicates will not be patched.

Description

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 using a variety of encodings and compression methods. When reading data encoded using the `BYTE_ARRAY_LEN` method, the `cram_byte_array_len_decode()` failed to validate that the amount of data being unpacked matched the size of the output buffer where it was to be stored. Depending on the data series being read, this could result either in a heap or a stack overflow with attacker- controlled bytes. Depending on the data stream this could result either in a heap buffer overflow or a stack overflow. If a user opens a file crafted to exploit this issue it could lead to the program crashing, overwriting of data structures on the heap or stack in ways not expected by the program, or changing the control flow of 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. There is no workaround for this issue. (CVE-2026-31971)

Note that Nessus relies on the presence of the package as reported by the vendor.

Solution

There is no known solution at this time.

See Also

https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-31971

https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-31971

Plugin Details

Severity: High

ID: 302969

File Name: unpatched_CVE_2026_31971.nasl

Version: 1.3

Type: local

Agent: unix

Family: Misc.

Published: 3/18/2026

Updated: 3/20/2026

Supported Sensors: Frictionless Assessment AWS, Frictionless Assessment Azure, Frictionless Assessment Agent, Nessus Agent, Agentless Assessment, Nessus

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Medium

Score: 6.0

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: Medium

Base Score: 6.8

Temporal Score: 5.8

Vector: CVSS2#AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

CVSS Score Source: CVE-2026-31971

CVSS v3

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 8.1

Temporal Score: 7.4

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H

Temporal Vector: CVSS:3.0/E:U/RL:U/RC:C

CVSS v4

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 7.1

Threat Score: 5

Threat Vector: CVSS:4.0/E:U

Vector: 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

Vulnerability Information

CPE: cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:14.04:-:lts, cpe:/o:debian:debian_linux:11.0, cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:20.04:-:lts, cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:25.10, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:htslib, cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:-:lts, cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:24.04:-:lts, cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.04:-:lts, cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:22.04:-:lts, cpe:/o:debian:debian_linux:14.0, p-cpe:/a:debian:debian_linux:htslib, cpe:/o:debian:debian_linux:12.0, cpe:/o:debian:debian_linux:13.0

Required KB Items: Host/local_checks_enabled, Host/cpu, global_settings/vendor_unpatched, Host/OS/identifier

Exploit Ease: No known exploits are available

Vulnerability Publication Date: 3/18/2026

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2026-31971