5.9
MEDIUM CVSS 4.0
CVE-2026-34942
Wasmtime panics when transcoding misaligned utf-16 strings
Description

Wasmtime is a runtime for WebAssembly. Prior to 24.0.7, 36.0.7, 42.0.2, and 43.0.1, Wasmtime's implementation of transcoding strings into the Component Model's utf16 or latin1+utf16 encodings improperly verified the alignment of reallocated strings. This meant that unaligned pointers could be passed to the host for transcoding which would trigger a host panic. This panic is possible to trigger from malicious guests which transfer very specific strings across components with specific addresses. Host panics are considered a DoS vector in Wasmtime as the panic conditions are controlled by the guest in this situation. This vulnerability is fixed in 24.0.7, 36.0.7, 42.0.2, and 43.0.1.

INFO

Published Date :

April 9, 2026, 7:16 p.m.

Last Modified :

April 9, 2026, 7:16 p.m.

Remotely Exploit :

Yes !
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2026-34942 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

No affected product recoded yet

CVSS Scores
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardized framework for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems. We collect and displays CVSS scores from various sources for each CVE.
Score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Score Impact Score Source
CVSS 4.0 MEDIUM [email protected]
Solution
Update Wasmtime to a fixed version to address string transcoding alignment issues causing host panics.
  • Update Wasmtime to version 24.0.7, 36.0.7, 42.0.2, or 43.0.1.
  • Verify string alignment checks in transcoding functions.
  • Avoid passing unaligned pointers for transcoding.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to CVE-2026-34942.

URL Resource
https://github.com/bytecodealliance/wasmtime/security/advisories/GHSA-jxhv-7h78-9775
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-34942 is associated with the following CWEs:

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-34942 weaknesses.

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2026-34942 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2026-34942 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • New CVE Received by [email protected]

    Apr. 09, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Description Wasmtime is a runtime for WebAssembly. Prior to 24.0.7, 36.0.7, 42.0.2, and 43.0.1, Wasmtime's implementation of transcoding strings into the Component Model's utf16 or latin1+utf16 encodings improperly verified the alignment of reallocated strings. This meant that unaligned pointers could be passed to the host for transcoding which would trigger a host panic. This panic is possible to trigger from malicious guests which transfer very specific strings across components with specific addresses. Host panics are considered a DoS vector in Wasmtime as the panic conditions are controlled by the guest in this situation. This vulnerability is fixed in 24.0.7, 36.0.7, 42.0.2, and 43.0.1.
    Added CVSS V4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:L/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
    Added CWE CWE-129
    Added Reference https://github.com/bytecodealliance/wasmtime/security/advisories/GHSA-jxhv-7h78-9775
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.