Description
The huft_build function in inflate.c in gzip before 1.3.13 creates a hufts (aka huffman) table that is too small, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash or infinite loop) or possibly execute arbitrary code via a crafted archive. NOTE: this issue is caused by a CVE-2006-4334 regression.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | gzip | 1.3.12-8 | — |
| Debian 13 | gzip | 1.3.12-8 | — |
| Debian 12 | gzip | 1.3.12-8 | — |
| Debian 5.0 | gzip | 1.3.12-6+lenny1 | DSA-1974-1 |
| Debian 4.0 | gzip | 1.3.5-15+etch1 | DSA-1974-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | gzip | 1.8-1.29 | openSUSE-SU-2024:10059-1 |
Advisories 2
- DSA-1974-1 gzip - arbitrary code execution Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2024:10059-1 gzip-1.8-1.29 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
References
- http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4435
- ADV-2010-0185 vdb-entry
- USN-889-1 vendor-advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=514711
- [bug-gzip] 20091002 gzip-1.3.13 released [major] mailing-list
- APPLE-SA-2010-11-10-1 vendor-advisory
- DSA-1974 vendor-advisory
- MDVSA-2010:020 vendor-advisory
- http://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/gzip.git/commit/?id=39a362ae9d9b007473381dba5032f4dfc1744cf2
- 38223 third-party-advisory
- 38132 third-party-advisory
- SUSE-SA:2010:008 vendor-advisory
- 38232 third-party-advisory
- http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=507263