How severe is CVE-2026-56288?

CVE-2026-56288 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.5, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.

Is CVE-2026-56288 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (2nd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2026-56288?

CVE-2026-56288 affects Gnu Patch. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2026-56288?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.

When was CVE-2026-56288 published?

CVE-2026-56288 was published on 2026-07-09 and last updated on 2026-07-13.

CVE-2026-56288

CVE-2026-56288 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Gnu Patch with a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.5. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-476.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 5.5)
CVSS v4: 4.6
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (2nd percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-476
Affected product: Gnu Patch
Published: 2026-07-09
Last modified: 2026-07-13

Description

GNU patch is vulnerable to a NULL pointer dereference when processing a specially crafted unified-diff patch file. Improper handling of consecutive end-of-file newline markers can corrupt internal hunk (single block of changes in diff) data structures, causing the application to pass a NULL pointer to fwrite() during patch processing. An attacker can trigger this condition with a malicious patch file, causing the utility to crash and resulting in a denial of service. This issue has been fixed in the commit e6d6a4e021660679d7fc9150f981d4920f722313

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-56288?: GNU patch is vulnerable to a NULL pointer dereference when processing a specially crafted unified-diff patch file. Improper handling of consecutive end-of-file newline markers can corrupt internal hunk (single block of changes in diff) data structures, causing the application to pass a NULL pointer to fwrite() during patch processing. An attacker can trigger this condition with a malicious patch file, causing the utility to crash and resulting in a denial of service. This issue has been fixed in the commit e6d6a4e021660679d7fc9150f981d4920f722313
How severe is CVE-2026-56288?: CVE-2026-56288 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.5, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.
Is CVE-2026-56288 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (2nd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2026-56288?: CVE-2026-56288 affects Gnu Patch. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2026-56288?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2026-56288 published?: CVE-2026-56288 was published on 2026-07-09 and last updated on 2026-07-13.

References

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:gnu:patch:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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