CVE-2026-31964

6.9 MEDIUM 0.3% exploit odds Fix listed Memory safety Library

What it is

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. While most alignment records store DNA sequence and quality values, the format also allows them to omit this data in certain cases to save space. Due to some quirks of the CRAM format, it is necessary to handle these records carefully as they will actually store data that needs to be consumed and then discarded. Unfortunately the `CONST`, `XPACK` and `XRLE` encodings did not properly implement the interface needed to do this. Trying to decode records with omitted sequence or quality data using these encodings would result in an attempt to write to a NULL pointer. Exploiting this bug causes a NULL pointer dereference. Typically this will cause the program to crash. Versions 1.23.1, 1.22.2 and 1.21.1 include fixes for this issue. There is no workaround for this issue.

At a glance

Exploitability: Can be exploited over the network without logging in. Limited direct impact.
Exploit odds: 0.3% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).
Fix: A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.

Timeline

2026-03-18 19:16 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2026-06-17 10:34 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
Exploit odds: 0.3% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
Severity: 6.9 MEDIUM (CVSS).
Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.

Details

Published: 2026-03-18 19:16 UTC
Last modified: 2026-06-17 10:34 UTC
Exploit probability: 0.3% · EPSS, next 30 days
Weakness: CWE-476 · NULL pointer dereference
Record status: Analyzed

Affected

Htslib < 1.21.1
Htslib < 1.22.2
Htslib 1.23

Attack profile CVSS 4.0 · 6.9

Attack vector: Network
Complexity: Low
Attack requirements: None
Privileges needed: None
User interaction: None
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: Low
Availability: Low

Raw vector

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

Is it in your code?

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Read https://cve-list.com/agent/cve/CVE-2026-31964.md and follow it. Check whether this project is affected by CVE-2026-31964. Read only. Don't change anything and don't upload my code. Tell me yes, no or not sure, with the file as proof.

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Fix and advisories

References

NVD record · CVE.org record