CVE-2026-53910

What it is

diff3 tool from GNU diffutils is vulnerable to a heap‑based buffer overflow due to multiple signed integer overflows in line‑mapping calculations. Incorrect arithmetic in mapping line ranges can result in corrupted values being used for memory allocation and loop bounds. When processing crafted diff output, these overflows may cause the application to allocate insufficient memory and subsequently perform out‑of‑bounds writes during internal processing.  An attacker who can control the output of the diff program used by diff3 (e.g. via --diff-program pointing to a malicious script) can trigger out-of-bounds writes, resulting in a crash and potentially remote code execution depending on the environment. This issue has been fixed in commit 9ff04d5b84743e331e80b589335a52c5480d1815  NOTE: The project maintainers claim that this is not a security issue. They state that the worst outcome this issue can cause is a crash of diff and that it cannot be used to escalate privileges.

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited locally on the machine 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

1. 2026-07-22 14:17 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-10-24 13:10 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: 2.1 LOW (CVSS).
• Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.

Details

Published

2026-07-22 14:17 UTC

Last modified

2026-10-24 13:10 UTC

Exploit probability

0.3% · EPSS, next 30 days

Weakness

CWE-190 · Integer overflow

Record status

Awaiting Analysis

Attack profile CVSS 4.0 · 2.1

Attack vector

Local

Complexity

Low

Attack requirements

Present

Privileges needed

None

User interaction

None

Confidentiality

None

Integrity

Low

Availability

Low

Is it in your code?

Hand this to your coding agent. It searches your project for the affected products and checks versions. Nothing leaves your machine.

Read https://cve-list.com/agent/cve/CVE-2026-53910.md and follow it. Check whether this project is affected by CVE-2026-53910. 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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