8.3
HIGH CVSS 4.0
CVE-2026-85091
zlib 1.3.1.2 through 1.3.2 Heap Buffer Overflow via gz_vacate
Description

zlib versions 1.3.1.2 through 1.3.2 contain a heap buffer overflow vulnerability in the gz_vacate() function when processing non-blocking gzwrite() operations with stale external buffer pointers. Attackers can trigger the overflow by calling gzprintf() or gzvprintf() after a write stall, causing an unchecked memmove() to write beyond the internal input buffer boundary.

INFO

Published Date :

Sept. 3, 2026, 1:06 p.m.

Last Modified :

Sept. 9, 2026, 8:41 p.m.

Remotely Exploit :

Yes !
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2026-85091 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.

ID Vendor Product Action
1 Zlib zlib
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 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
CVSS 3.1 HIGH MITRE-CVE
CVSS 3.1 HIGH [email protected]
CVSS 4.0 HIGH [email protected]
Solution
Update zlib to patched versions to fix heap buffer overflow.
  • Update zlib to a version that includes the fix.
  • Avoid non-blocking gzwrite() with stale pointers.
  • Apply vendor-supplied patches when available.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-85091 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-2026-85091 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-2026-85091 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2026-85091 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.

  • CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

    Sep. 03, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added SSVC {'id': 'CVE-2026-85091', 'role': 'CISA Coordinator', 'options': [{'exploitation': 'poc'}, {'automatable': 'no'}, {'technicalImpact': 'total'}], 'version': '2.0.3', 'timestamp': '2026-09-03T13:21:12.950523Z'}
  • New CVE Received by [email protected]

    Sep. 03, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Description zlib versions 1.3.1.2 through 1.3.2 contain a heap buffer overflow vulnerability in the gz_vacate() function when processing non-blocking gzwrite() operations with stale external buffer pointers. Attackers can trigger the overflow by calling gzprintf() or gzvprintf() after a write stall, causing an unchecked memmove() to write beyond the internal input buffer boundary.
    Added CVSS V4.0 AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/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 CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
    Added CWE CWE-787
    Added Affected New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/85xxx/CVE-2026-85091.json">CVE-2026-85091</a>
    Added Reference https://gist.github.com/thesmartshadow/e0b9481792afb7c31e86fee1ff084490
    Added Reference https://github.com/madler/zlib
    Added Reference https://github.com/madler/zlib/blob/v1.3.2/gzwrite.c#L393
    Added Reference https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/zlib-1.3.1.2-through-1.3.2-heap-buffer-overflow-via-gz-vacate
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.