Description
LilyPond before 2.24 allows attackers to bypass the -dsafe protection mechanism via output-def-lookup or output-def-scope, as demonstrated by dangerous Scheme code in a .ly file that causes arbitrary code execution during conversion to a different file format. NOTE: in 2.24 and later versions, safe mode is removed, and the product no longer tries to block code execution when external files are used.
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 | lilypond | 2.22.1-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | lilypond | 2.22.1-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | lilypond | 2.22.1-1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | lilypond | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | lilypond | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | lilypond | No fix yet | — |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SUSE Package Hub 15 SP4 | guile1 | 2.2.6-bp154.3.3.1 | openSUSE-SU-2023:0137-1 |
| SUSE Package Hub 15 SP4 | lilypond | 2.24.1-bp154.2.3.2 | openSUSE-SU-2023:0137-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Leap 15.4 | guile1 | 2.2.6-bp154.3.3.1 | openSUSE-SU-2023:0137-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.4 | lilypond | 2.24.1-bp154.2.3.2 | openSUSE-SU-2023:0137-1 |
Advisories 1
- openSUSE-SU-2023:0137-1 Security update for guile1, lilypond SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
References
- http://lilypond.org/doc/v2.18/Documentation/usage/command_002dline-usage
- https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T259210
- https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Score/2021_security_advisory
- https://tracker.debian.org/news/1249694/accepted-lilypond-2221-1-source-into-unstable/
- https://gitlab.com/lilypond/lilypond/-/merge_requests/1522
- https://lilypond.org/download.html
- FEDORA-2023-fb8bc496c2 vendor-advisory
- FEDORA-2023-6edb8fab0d vendor-advisory