Description
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. For the `VARINT` and `CONST` encodings, incomplete validation of the context in which the encodings were used could result in up to eight bytes being written beyond the end of a heap allocation, or up to eight bytes being written to the location of a one byte variable on the stack, possibly causing the values to adjacent variables to change unexpectedly. Depending on the data stream this could result either in a heap buffer overflow or a stack overflow. If a user opens a file crafted to exploit this issue it could lead to the program crashing, overwriting of data structures on the heap or stack in ways not expected by the program, or changing the control flow of the program. It may be possible to use this to obtain arbitrary code execution. Versions 1.23.1, 1.22.2 and 1.21.1 include fixes for this issue. There is no workaround for this issue.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| samtools | htslib | < 1.21.1, >= 1.22, < 1.22.2, = 1.23 | — |
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 | htslib | 1.24-2 | — |
| Debian 13 | htslib | No fix yet | — |
| Debian 12 | htslib | No fix yet | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.10 | htslib | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | htslib | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 25.10 | htslib | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | htslib | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | htslib | No fix yet | — |
Show 4 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | htslib | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS | htslib | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS | htslib | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 14.04 LTS | htslib | No fix yet | — |