CVE-2026-48104: GHSL-2026-115–GHSL-2026-122: Various memory access violations in 7-Zip
7-Zip is a file archiver with a high compression ratio. Versions 9.18 through 26.00 contain an uninitialized heap read in the SquashFS archive handler caused by a sparsely populated index array. In the SquashFS handler, blockToNode is allocated with capacity for every metadata block but populated only when an inode crosses a block boundary, so a crafted image with few inodes spanning many blocks leaves most slots holding raw heap contents (the underlying allocator does not zero-initialize POD storage). When OpenDir looks up an attacker-influenced blockIndex (derived from the RootInode superblock field), it reads two of these uninitialized slots and passes them as the left/right bounds of a binary search over nodesPos, which dereferences the midpoint without bounds checking; if the resulting value happens to match the search key, the returned index is used to read a full node struct from nodes whose fields feed further directory parsing, forming a chained OOB read primitive that is heap-layout-dependent and not reliably triggerable. The SquashFS handler is enabled by default in stock 7z.dll and the issue triggers during Open() with no interaction beyond opening the file; impact is denial of service from wild-pointer dereference and potential heap information disclosure, with no write primitive. Version 26.01 fixes the issue.
Other sources
The 7-Zip project, version 26.00, contains various memory access violations, out-of-bounds (OOB) read issues, uninitialized memory vulnerabilities, integer overflow flaws in various archive formats (e.g., 7z, SquashFS, UDF, UEFI, WIM, and Ar), and path traversal in sample app, which could potentially lead to compromising system integrity or accessing sensitive data.
— GitHub Security Lab
Affected Software
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Upgrade
Upgrade
7-Zip 7z.dllto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 26.01Patch GHSL-2026-120 - Upgrade
Upgrade
7-Zip 7z.dllto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 26.01Patch GHSL-2026-115–GHSL-2026-122
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the severity of CVE-2026-48104?
CVE-2026-48104 has a medium severity rating of 4.2.
What software is affected by CVE-2026-48104?
CVE-2026-48104 affects 7-Zip versions 9.18 through 26.00.
How do I fix CVE-2026-48104?
To fix CVE-2026-48104, apply the available patch provided for 7-Zip.
What type of vulnerability is CVE-2026-48104?
CVE-2026-48104 is an uninitialized heap read vulnerability in the SquashFS archive handler.
What can be exploited in CVE-2026-48104?
CVE-2026-48104 can be exploited due to a sparsely populated index array in the SquashFS handler.