Description
Buffer overflow vulnerability has been found in "extension/readdir.c" program file of gawk (ftype() routine). This issue could be used to crash the program and potentially to achieve code execution, although the latter has not been confirmed to be feasible. It affects gawk in versions 5.4.0 and below.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| GNU | gawk | ≤ 5.4.0 | — |
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 | gawk | No fix yet | — |
| Debian 13 | gawk | No fix yet | — |
| Debian 12 | gawk | No fix yet | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | gawk | 1:5.3.2-1ubuntu1.1 | USN-8588-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | gawk | 1:5.2.1-2ubuntu0.1 | USN-8588-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | gawk | 1:5.1.0-1ubuntu0.2 | USN-8588-1 |
Show 4 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS | gawk | 1:5.0.1+dfsg-1ubuntu0.1+esm1 | USN-8588-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS | gawk | 1:4.1.4+dfsg-1ubuntu0.1~esm2 | USN-8588-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS | gawk | 1:4.1.3+dfsg-0.1ubuntu0.1~esm2 | USN-8588-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro 14.04 LTS | gawk | 1:4.0.1+dfsg-2.1ubuntu2+esm2 | USN-8588-1 |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 10 | gawk +1 | 5.3.0-6.el10_2.1 | RHSA-2026:73429 |
| RHEL 9 | gawk +1 | 5.1.0-6.el9_8.1 | RHSA-2026:73512 |
Show 1 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Hardened Images 1 | gawk +3 | 5.4.0-3.1.hum1 | RHSA-2026:49661, RHSA-2026:40041 |
AlmaLinux
Errata ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| AlmaLinux 10 | gawk +1 | 5.3.0-6.el10_2.1 | ALSA-2026:73429 |
| AlmaLinux 9 | gawk +1 | 5.1.0-6.el9_8.1 | ALSA-2026:73512 |
Rocky Linux
Errata ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rocky Linux 10 | gawk | 5.3.0-6.el10_2.1 | RLSA-2026:73429 |
| Rocky Linux 9 | gawk | 5.1.0-6.el9_8.1 | RLSA-2026:73512 |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 15 SP7 | gawk | 4.2.1-150000.3.6.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3455-1 |
Show 7 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES for SAP 16.0 | gawk | 5.3.2-160000.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:22831-1 |
| SLES 16.0 | gawk | 5.3.2-160000.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:22831-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.2 | gawk | 5.3.2-160000.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:22767-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.0 | gawk | 5.3.0-2.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:23042-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.5 | gawk | 4.2.1-150000.3.6.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3455-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.4 | gawk | 4.2.1-150000.3.6.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3455-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.3 | gawk | 4.2.1-150000.3.6.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3455-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | gawk | 5.3.2-160000.3.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:21393-1 |
Amazon Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux 2023 | gawk +3 | 5.1.0-3.amzn2023.0.4 | ALAS2023-2026-2035 |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 3 | gawk | 5.2.2-2 | — |
Oracle Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle Linux 10 | gawk +1 | 5.3.0-6.el10_2.1 | ELSA-2026-73429 |
| Oracle Linux 9 | gawk +1 | 5.1.0-6.el9_8.1 | ELSA-2026-73512 |
Advisories 18
- WID-SEC-2026-3649 Red Hat Enterprise Linux (gawk): Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 4, 2026
- ALSA-2026:73512 Moderate: gawk security update AlmaLinux Security Advisories · Oct 29, 2026
- ALSA-2026:73429 Moderate: gawk security update AlmaLinux Security Advisories · Oct 29, 2026
- RHSA-2026:73512 Red Hat Security Advisory: gawk security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Oct 15, 2026
- RHSA-2026:73429 Red Hat Security Advisory: gawk security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Oct 15, 2026
- RHSA-2026:49661 Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Hardened Images RPMs Security Update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Oct 15, 2026
- RHSA-2026:40041 Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Hardened Images RPMs Security Update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Oct 15, 2026
- RLSA-2026:73429 Moderate: gawk security update Rocky Linux Security Advisories · Sep 30, 2026
- RLSA-2026:73512 Moderate: gawk security update Rocky Linux Security Advisories · Sep 30, 2026
- ELSA-2026-73429 Moderate: gawk security update (Oracle Linux 10) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Sep 30, 2026
- ELSA-2026-73512 Moderate: gawk security update (Oracle Linux 9) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Sep 30, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:23042-1 Security update for gawk SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Aug 12, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:3455-1 Security update for gawk SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Aug 4, 2026
- ALAS2023-2026-2035 Important: gawk security update (Amazon Linux 2023) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Aug 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:22831-1 Security update for gawk SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Jul 28, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:21393-1 Security update for gawk SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Jul 24, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:22767-1 Security update for gawk SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Jul 23, 2026
- USN-8588-1 gawk vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Jul 23, 2026