CVE-2026-56288

4.6 MEDIUM 0.1% exploit odds Fix listed Memory safety

What it is

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

At a glance

Exploitability: Can be exploited locally on the machine without logging in, but needs a user to act. Limited direct impact.
Exploit odds: 0.1% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).
Fix: A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.

Timeline

2026-07-09 11:16 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2026-10-25 17:10 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
Exploit odds: 0.1% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
Severity: 4.6 MEDIUM (CVSS).
Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.

Details

Published: 2026-07-09 11:16 UTC
Last modified: 2026-10-25 17:10 UTC
Exploit probability: 0.1% · EPSS, next 30 days
Weakness: CWE-476 · NULL pointer dereference
Record status: Analyzed

Affected

Gnu Patch ≤ 2.8.0

Attack profile CVSS 4.0 · 4.6

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

Raw vector

CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/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?

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-2026-56288.md and follow it. Check whether this project is affected by CVE-2026-56288. 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