Description
jq is a command-line JSON processor. An integer overflow vulnerability exists through version 1.8.1 within the jvp_string_append() and jvp_string_copy_replace_bad functions, where concatenating strings with a combined length exceeding 2^31 bytes causes a 32-bit unsigned integer overflow in the buffer allocation size calculation, resulting in a drastically undersized heap buffer. Subsequent memory copy operations then write the full string data into this undersized buffer, causing a heap buffer overflow classified as CWE-190 (Integer Overflow) leading to CWE-122 (Heap-based Buffer Overflow). Any system evaluating untrusted jq queries is affected, as an attacker can crash the process or potentially achieve further exploitation through heap corruption by crafting queries that produce extremely large strings. The root cause is the absence of string size bounds checking, unlike arrays and objects which already have size limits. The issue has been addressed in commit e47e56d226519635768e6aab2f38f0ab037c09e5.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| jqlang | jq | < e47e56d226519635768e6aab2f38f0ab037c09e5 | — |
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 | jq | 1.8.1-5 | — |
| Debian 13 | jq | 1.7.1-6+deb13u3 | — |
| Debian 12 | jq | 1.6-2.1+deb12u3 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | jq | 1.8.1-4ubuntu2 | — |
| Ubuntu 25.10 | jq | 1.8.1-3ubuntu1.1 | USN-8202-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | jq | 1.7.1-3ubuntu0.24.04.2 | USN-8202-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | jq | 1.6-2.1ubuntu3.2 | USN-8202-1 |
Show 4 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS | jq | 1.6-1ubuntu0.20.04.1+esm2 | USN-8202-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS | jq | 1.5+dfsg-2ubuntu0.1~esm2 | USN-8202-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS | jq | 1.5+dfsg-1ubuntu0.1+esm4 | USN-8202-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro 14.04 LTS | jq | 1.3-1.1ubuntu1.1+esm4 | USN-8202-1 |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Hardened Images 1 | jq +1 | 1.8.1-3.hum1 | RHSA-2026:8579 |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 15 SP7 | jq | 1.6-150000.3.20.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:2983-1 |
Show 8 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES for SAP 16.0 | jq | 1.7.1-160000.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:22566-1 |
| SLES 16.0 | jq | 1.7.1-160000.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:22566-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.2 | jq | 1.7.1-160000.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:22545-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.1 | jq | 1.7.1-slfo.1.1_3.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:22664-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.0 | jq | 1.6-6.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:23873-1, SUSE-SU-2026:22705-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.5 | jq | 1.6-150000.3.20.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:2983-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.4 | jq | 1.6-150000.3.20.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:2983-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.3 | jq | 1.6-150000.3.20.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:2983-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | jq | 1.8.1-3.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:10850-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | jq | 1.7.1-160000.3.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:21248-1 |
Alpine
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.24 | jq | 1.8.2-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.23 | jq | 1.8.2-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.22 | jq | 1.8.2-r0 | — |
Amazon Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux 2023 | jq +1 | 1.8.1-59.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2026-1815 |
| Amazon Linux 2 | jq +1 | 1.6-17.amzn2.0.1 | ALAS2-2026-3496 |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 3 | jq | 1.7.1-5 | — |
Wolfi
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wolfi rolling | jq | 1.8.1-r5 | — |
Advisories 12
- RHSA-2026:8579 Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Hardened Images RPMs bug fix and enhancement update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Oct 6, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:23873-1 Security update for jq SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Sep 28, 2026
- USN-8202-1 jq vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Aug 31, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:22705-1 Security update for jq SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Jul 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:22664-1 Security update for jq SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Jul 21, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:22566-1 Security update for jq SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Jul 15, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:2983-1 Security update for jq SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Jul 15, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:22545-1 Security update for jq SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Jul 14, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:21248-1 Security update for jq SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Jul 9, 2026
- ALAS2-2026-3496 Moderate: jq security update (Amazon Linux 2) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Jul 7, 2026
- ALAS2023-2026-1815 Moderate: jq security update (Amazon Linux 2023) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Jun 8, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:10850-1 jq-1.8.1-3.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · May 25, 2026