Description
A flaw was found in GNU nano's multi-buffer error message handling. When a user opens multiple files at startup and one triggers an ALERT-level error, a specially crafted filename containing printf format specifiers can be reinterpreted. This format string vulnerability may allow an attacker to achieve stack information disclosure, cause a denial of service (crash), or potentially perform arbitrary memory writes.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | — | — |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | — | — |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | — | — |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | — | — |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | — | — |
| Red Hat | Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | — | — |
| Red Hat | Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5 | — | — |
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 | nano | 9.0-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | nano | No fix yet | — |
| Debian 12 | nano | No fix yet | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | nano | 8.7.1-1ubuntu0.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 25.10 | nano | 8.4-1ubuntu0.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | nano | 7.2-2ubuntu0.2 | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | nano | 6.2-1ubuntu0.2 | — |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | nano | 9.3-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:12247-1 |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 3 | nano | No fix yet | — |
Advisories 1
- openSUSE-SU-2026:12247-1 nano-9.3-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Oct 24, 2026
References
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-6390 vdb-entry
- RHBZ#2458767 issue-tracking