Amazon Linux 2 : libXfont, --advisory ALAS2-2026-3890 (ALAS-2026-3890)

high Nessus Plugin ID 341894

Synopsis

The remote Amazon Linux 2 host is missing a security update.

Description

The version of libXfont installed on the remote host is prior to 1.5.4-1. It is, therefore, affected by multiple vulnerabilities as referenced in the ALAS2-2026-3890 advisory.

A flaw was found in the libXfont2 font-server client. This heap buffer overflow vulnerability allows a malicious font server to send specially crafted glyph data. The fs_read_glyphs() function fails to properly validate the total size of the incoming data, leading to an overwrite of memory beyond the intended buffer. If the X server runs as a privileged user, this could result in privilege escalation, allowing an attacker to gain higher access. If the X server runs as an unprivileged user, it could lead to a denial of service, causing the system to crash. (CVE-2026-44950)

A flaw was found in the libXfont2 font-server client. A remote attacker, by operating a malicious font server, could exploit an out-of-bounds read/write vulnerability. This occurs because the client incorrectly handles font data, leading to an out-of-bounds memory access. This can lead to privilege escalation if the X server runs with root privileges, or a denial of service (crash) if it runs as an unprivileged user. (CVE-2026-59679)

Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the tested product security advisory.

Note that Nessus has not tested for these issues but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

Solution

Run 'yum update libXfont' or or 'yum update --advisory ALAS2-2026-3890' to update your system.

Plugin Details

Severity: High

ID: 341894

File Name: al2_ALAS-2026-3890.nasl

Version: 1.1

Type: Local

Agent: unix

Family: Amazon Linux Local Security Checks

Published: 8/31/2026

Updated: 8/31/2026

Supported Sensors: Agentless Assessment, Continuous Assessment, Frictionless Assessment Agent, Frictionless Assessment AWS, Nessus Agent, Tenable Cloud Security, Tenable Self-Hosted Container Security, Nessus

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Medium

Score: 4.9

Percentile: 58.13

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 7.6

Temporal Score: 5.6

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

CVSS Score Source: CVE-2026-59679

CVSS v3

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 7.5

Temporal Score: 6.5

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

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

Vulnerability Information

CPE: cpe:/o:amazon:linux:2, p-cpe:/a:amazon:linux:libxfont-debuginfo, p-cpe:/a:amazon:linux:libxfont-devel, p-cpe:/a:amazon:linux:libxfont

Required KB Items: Host/local_checks_enabled, Host/AmazonLinux/release, Host/AmazonLinux/rpm-list

Exploit Ease: No known exploits are available

Patch Publication Date: 8/31/2026

Vulnerability Publication Date: 8/5/2026

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2026-44950, CVE-2026-59679

Detections

Analytics