Debian dla-4840 : jq - security update

high Nessus Plugin ID 366688

Synopsis

The remote Debian host is missing a security-related update.

Description

The remote Debian 12 host has packages installed that are affected by a vulnerability as referenced in the dla-4840 advisory.

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Debian LTS Advisory DLA-4840-1 [email protected] https://www.debian.org/lts/security/ Simon Quigley October 16, 2026 https://wiki.debian.org/LTS
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Package : jq Version : 1.6-2.1+deb12u3 CVE ID : CVE-2026-32316

The fix for CVE-2026-32316 in 1.6-2.1+deb12u2 stopped one string from growing past its limit, but repeating a string with * could still keep appending. A repeat that cannot fit now fails with Repeat string result too long. Upstream fixed this in 1.8 by adding jv_string_repeat(), which would be a new symbol in libjq1, so this update checks the length in the multiply function that is already there. A count below 1 still returns the same result as before.

This update also fixes two memory errors that have no CVE id.
args2obj() freed a name and its value twice when jq_compile_args() was given an array (GHSA-gf4g-95wj-4q4r). The jq command line always passes an object, so this only affects programs that link libjq and pass an array. f_multiply() reused the string it was repeating, so (a*200)*30 copied from memory that had already been freed. That is upstream commit 9163e096.

A very deep delpaths still aborts in jv_array_length(), which is the crash reported after DLA-4662-1. A fix for that is being sent upstream before it is applied here.

For Debian 12 bookworm, this problem has been fixed in version 1.6-2.1+deb12u3.

We recommend that you upgrade your jq packages.

For the detailed security status of jq please refer to its security tracker page at:
https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/jq

Further information about Debian LTS security advisories, how to apply these updates to your system and frequently asked questions can be found at: https://wiki.debian.org/LTS

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

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

Solution

Upgrade the jq packages.

Plugin Details

Severity: High

ID: 366688

File Name: debian_DLA-4840.nasl

Version: 1.1

Type: Local

Agent: unix

Family: Debian Local Security Checks

Published: 10/16/2026

Updated: 10/16/2026

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

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Low

Score: 3

Percentile: 23.69

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 7.8

Temporal Score: 6.1

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

CVSS Score Source: CVE-2026-32316

CVSS v3

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 7.5

Temporal Score: 6.7

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

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

Vulnerability Information

CPE: cpe:/o:debian:debian_linux:12.0, p-cpe:/a:debian:debian_linux:jq, p-cpe:/a:debian:debian_linux:libjq-dev, p-cpe:/a:debian:debian_linux:libjq1

Required KB Items: Host/local_checks_enabled, Host/Debian/release, Host/Debian/dpkg-l

Exploit Available: true

Exploit Ease: Exploits are available

Patch Publication Date: 10/16/2026

Vulnerability Publication Date: 11/13/2025

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2026-32316

IAVB: 2025-B-0188

Detections

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