SAMtools is a program for reading, manipulating and writing bioinformatics file formats. The `mpileup` command outputs DNA sequences that have been aligned against a known reference. On each output line it writes the reference position, optionally the reference DNA base at that position (obtained from a separate file) and all of the DNA bases that aligned to that position. As the output is ordered by position, reference data that is no longer needed is discarded once it has been printed out. Under certain conditions the data could be discarded too early, leading to an attempt to read from a pointer to freed memory. This bug may allow information about program state to be leaked. It may also cause a program crash through an attempt to access invalid memory. This bug is fixed in versions 1.21.1 and 1.22. There is no workaround for this issue.
References
| Link | Resource |
|---|---|
| https://github.com/samtools/samtools/commit/3036eb9af945fcef359427a2d359855553da4adf | Patch |
| https://github.com/samtools/samtools/security/advisories/GHSA-72c8-4jf3-f27p | Vendor Advisory |
| http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/03/18/11 | Mailing List Third Party Advisory |
Configurations
History
19 Mar 2026, 18:54
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| CVSS |
v2 : v3 : |
v2 : unknown
v3 : 9.8 |
| CPE | cpe:2.3:a:samtools:samtools:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| First Time |
Samtools samtools
Samtools |
|
| References | () https://github.com/samtools/samtools/commit/3036eb9af945fcef359427a2d359855553da4adf - Patch | |
| References | () https://github.com/samtools/samtools/security/advisories/GHSA-72c8-4jf3-f27p - Vendor Advisory | |
| References | () http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/03/18/11 - Mailing List, Third Party Advisory |
19 Mar 2026, 00:16
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| New CVE |
Information
Published : 2026-03-18 21:16
Updated : 2026-03-19 18:54
NVD link : CVE-2026-31972
Mitre link : CVE-2026-31972
CVE.ORG link : CVE-2026-31972
JSON object : View
Products Affected
samtools
- samtools
CWE
CWE-416
Use After Free
