CVE-2026-40467
Description
A flaw was found in gawk. A Use After Free vulnerability exists in the do_getline_redir() routine within the io.c program file. This vulnerability can be triggered by an attacker, potentially leading to a system crash and causing a Denial of Service (DoS).
Statement
Moderate: A Use After Free vulnerability in gawk's do_getline_redir() routine can lead to a denial of service. This flaw, affecting gawk in Red Hat Hardened Images, requires a local attacker with low privileges to trick a user into interacting with specially crafted input, limiting its immediate impact.
Mitigation
To mitigate this issue, users should avoid processing untrusted or maliciously crafted input with `gawk`. Exercise caution when executing `gawk` scripts or commands that process data from unknown or unverified sources.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 4 | 7.5 | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Local | Network | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | Low | Low | N/A |
| Privileges Required | None | None | N/A |
| User Interaction | None | None | N/A |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged | N/A |
| Confidentiality | None | None | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | None | None | N/A |
| Availability Impact | Low | High | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Read Memory
If the expired pointer is used in a read operation, an attacker might be able to control data read in by the application.
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
If the expired pointer references a memory location that is not accessible to the product, or points to a location that is "malformed" (such as NULL) or larger than expected by a read or write operation, then a crash may occur.
Integrity,Confidentiality,Availability
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands
If the expired pointer is used in a function call, or points to unexpected data in a write operation, then code execution may be possible.
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