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CVE-2026-88842

Busybox: busybox: dpkg stale field_start pointer causes out-of-bounds read and status file corruption

3.3 Low

A flaw was found in BusyBox dpkg. The write_status_file() function does not reset a field cursor between package stanzas. When two packages are removed in a single invocation and the first stanza is larger than the second, the second package stanza can be dropped from the status file, causing limited data corruption.

Attack profile

How easy it is to exploit

Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges needed
None
User interaction
Required

What an attacker can affect

Confidentiality
None
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

Exploit likelihood

0.16%Unchanged since Oct 15, 2026
90%50%10%1%

What each source reports

CVE List Score used 3.3

Busybox: busybox: dpkg stale field_start pointer causes out-of-bounds read and status file corruption

A flaw was found in BusyBox dpkg. The write_status_file() function does not reset a field cursor between package stanzas. When two packages are removed in a single invocation and the first stanza is larger than the second, the second package stanza can be dropped from the status file, causing limited data corruption.

Record
CVE-2026-88842
CVSS 3.1
3.3 LowCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
Weakness
CWE-125
Updated
2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2026-100957 3.3

A flaw was found in BusyBox dpkg. The write_status_file() function does not reset a field cursor between package stanzas. When two packages are removed in a single invocation and the first stanza is larger than the second, the second package stanza can be dropped from the status file, causing limited data corruption.

Record
EUVD-2026-100957
CVSS 3.1
3.3 LowCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
Updated
2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-9p9q-94fg-r728 3.3

A flaw was found in BusyBox dpkg. The write_status_file() function does not reset a field cursor...

A flaw was found in BusyBox dpkg. The write_status_file() function does not reset a field cursor between package stanzas. When two packages are removed in a single invocation and the first stanza is larger than the second, the second package stanza can be dropped from the status file, causing limited data corruption.

Record
GHSA-9p9q-94fg-r728
CVSS 3.1
3.3 LowCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
Weakness
CWE-125
Updated
2026-11-02
NVD 3.3

A flaw was found in BusyBox dpkg. The write_status_file() function does not reset a field cursor between package stanzas. When two packages are removed in a single invocation and the first stanza is larger than the second, the second package stanza can be dropped from the status file, causing limited data corruption.

Record
CVE-2026-88842
CVSS 3.1
3.3 LowCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
Weakness
CWE-125
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVBELL-CVE-2026-88842 3.3

CVE-2026-88842 does not affect BellSoft software

Record
BELL-CVE-2026-88842
CVSS 3.1
3.3 LowCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2026-88842 3.3

A flaw was found in BusyBox dpkg. The write_status_file() function does not reset a field cursor between package stanzas. When two packages are removed in a single invocation and the first stanza is larger than the second, the second package stanza can be dropped from the status file, causing limited data corruption.

Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2026-88842
CVSS 3.1
3.3 LowCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
Updated
2026-11-02
Show 8 moreShow less
OSVOESA-2026-4526 7.3

busybox security update

The Swiss Army Knife of Embedded Linux

Security Fix(es):

BusyBox httpd IP deny rules with invalid CIDR prefix lengths fail open, leaving a parsed IP with a zeroed mask so the rule matches no clients.(CVE-2026-88831)

BusyBox romfs volume ID parsing uses unbounded strlen on attacker-controlled metadata, causing a heap buffer overflow when processing crafted filesystem images.(CVE-2026-88832)

A flaw was found in BusyBox's httpd web server. When configured with system password authentication, a user existence oracle may exist in certain build configurations. An attacker could distinguish existing from non-existing usernames by observing authentication failure behavior. Impact is limited to username enumeration and requires non-default compile options or uncommon password file states; default BusyBox builds with shadow password support are not affected.(CVE-2026-88834)

BusyBox dpkg read_package_field() steps past a NUL terminator on malformed .deb packages, causing an out-of-bounds heap read.(CVE-2026-88835)

BusyBox httpd treats yescrypt ($y$) password hashes as plaintext during Basic Authentication, inverting the authentication check.(CVE-2026-88837)

BusyBox passwd/group tokenize() references a stale endpoint pointer after trimming, causing an out-of-bounds write of heap pointers.(CVE-2026-88839)

A flaw was found in BusyBox dpkg. The write_status_file() function does not reset a field cursor between package stanzas. When two packages are removed in a single invocation and the first stanza is larger than the second, the second package stanza can be dropped from the status file, causing limited data corruption.(CVE-2026-88842)

Record
OESA-2026-4526
CVSS 3.1
7.3 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVOESA-2026-4527 7.3

busybox security update

The Swiss Army Knife of Embedded Linux

Security Fix(es):

BusyBox httpd IP deny rules with invalid CIDR prefix lengths fail open, leaving a parsed IP with a zeroed mask so the rule matches no clients.(CVE-2026-88831)

BusyBox romfs volume ID parsing uses unbounded strlen on attacker-controlled metadata, causing a heap buffer overflow when processing crafted filesystem images.(CVE-2026-88832)

A flaw was found in BusyBox's httpd web server. When configured with system password authentication, a user existence oracle may exist in certain build configurations. An attacker could distinguish existing from non-existing usernames by observing authentication failure behavior. Impact is limited to username enumeration and requires non-default compile options or uncommon password file states; default BusyBox builds with shadow password support are not affected.(CVE-2026-88834)

BusyBox dpkg read_package_field() steps past a NUL terminator on malformed .deb packages, causing an out-of-bounds heap read.(CVE-2026-88835)

BusyBox httpd treats yescrypt ($y$) password hashes as plaintext during Basic Authentication, inverting the authentication check.(CVE-2026-88837)

BusyBox passwd/group tokenize() references a stale endpoint pointer after trimming, causing an out-of-bounds write of heap pointers.(CVE-2026-88839)

A flaw was found in BusyBox dpkg. The write_status_file() function does not reset a field cursor between package stanzas. When two packages are removed in a single invocation and the first stanza is larger than the second, the second package stanza can be dropped from the status file, causing limited data corruption.(CVE-2026-88842)

Record
OESA-2026-4527
CVSS 3.1
7.3 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVOESA-2026-4528 7.3

busybox security update

The Swiss Army Knife of Embedded Linux

Security Fix(es):

BusyBox httpd IP deny rules with invalid CIDR prefix lengths fail open, leaving a parsed IP with a zeroed mask so the rule matches no clients.(CVE-2026-88831)

BusyBox romfs volume ID parsing uses unbounded strlen on attacker-controlled metadata, causing a heap buffer overflow when processing crafted filesystem images.(CVE-2026-88832)

A flaw was found in BusyBox's httpd web server. When configured with system password authentication, a user existence oracle may exist in certain build configurations. An attacker could distinguish existing from non-existing usernames by observing authentication failure behavior. Impact is limited to username enumeration and requires non-default compile options or uncommon password file states; default BusyBox builds with shadow password support are not affected.(CVE-2026-88834)

BusyBox dpkg read_package_field() steps past a NUL terminator on malformed .deb packages, causing an out-of-bounds heap read.(CVE-2026-88835)

BusyBox httpd treats yescrypt ($y$) password hashes as plaintext during Basic Authentication, inverting the authentication check.(CVE-2026-88837)

BusyBox passwd/group tokenize() references a stale endpoint pointer after trimming, causing an out-of-bounds write of heap pointers.(CVE-2026-88839)

A flaw was found in BusyBox dpkg. The write_status_file() function does not reset a field cursor between package stanzas. When two packages are removed in a single invocation and the first stanza is larger than the second, the second package stanza can be dropped from the status file, causing limited data corruption.(CVE-2026-88842)

Record
OESA-2026-4528
CVSS 3.1
7.3 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVOESA-2026-4529 7.3

busybox security update

The Swiss Army Knife of Embedded Linux

Security Fix(es):

BusyBox httpd IP deny rules with invalid CIDR prefix lengths fail open, leaving a parsed IP with a zeroed mask so the rule matches no clients.(CVE-2026-88831)

BusyBox romfs volume ID parsing uses unbounded strlen on attacker-controlled metadata, causing a heap buffer overflow when processing crafted filesystem images.(CVE-2026-88832)

A flaw was found in BusyBox's httpd web server. When configured with system password authentication, a user existence oracle may exist in certain build configurations. An attacker could distinguish existing from non-existing usernames by observing authentication failure behavior. Impact is limited to username enumeration and requires non-default compile options or uncommon password file states; default BusyBox builds with shadow password support are not affected.(CVE-2026-88834)

BusyBox dpkg read_package_field() steps past a NUL terminator on malformed .deb packages, causing an out-of-bounds heap read.(CVE-2026-88835)

BusyBox httpd treats yescrypt ($y$) password hashes as plaintext during Basic Authentication, inverting the authentication check.(CVE-2026-88837)

BusyBox passwd/group tokenize() references a stale endpoint pointer after trimming, causing an out-of-bounds write of heap pointers.(CVE-2026-88839)

A flaw was found in BusyBox dpkg. The write_status_file() function does not reset a field cursor between package stanzas. When two packages are removed in a single invocation and the first stanza is larger than the second, the second package stanza can be dropped from the status file, causing limited data corruption.(CVE-2026-88842)

Record
OESA-2026-4529
CVSS 3.1
7.3 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVRHSA-2026:81391 6.3

Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Hardened Images RPMs Security Update

Record
RHSA-2026:81391
CVSS 3.1
6.3 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2026-88842 3.3

A flaw was found in BusyBox dpkg. The write_status_file() function does not reset a field cursor between package stanzas. When two packages are removed in a single invocation and the first stanza is larger than the second, the second package stanza can be dropped from the status file, causing limited data corruption.

Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2026-88842
CVSS 3.1
3.3 LowCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVAZL-109773 No score

CVE-2026-88842 affecting package busybox 1.36.1-28

A flaw was found in BusyBox dpkg. The write_status_file() function does not reset a field cursor between package stanzas. When two packages are removed in a single invocation and the first stanza is larger than the second, the second package stanza can be dropped from the status file, causing limited data corruption.

Record
AZL-109773
Updated
2026-11-05
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2026:12376-1 No score

busybox-1.38.0-4.1 on GA media

These are all security issues fixed in the busybox-1.38.0-4.1 package on the GA media of openSUSE Tumbleweed.

Record
openSUSE-SU-2026:12376-1
Updated
2026-11-02

Affected products

Affected packages

Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
busybox
Azure Linux:3
 through 1.36.1-28 None known
busybox
Debian:12
 All versions, plus listed versions
1:1.35.0-41:1.35.0-4+deb12u11:1.36.0-1~exp11:1.36.1-11:1.36.1-2
Show 23 moreShow less
1:1.36.1-31:1.36.1-3.11:1.36.1-41:1.36.1-51:1.36.1-61:1.36.1-6~exp.11:1.36.1-71:1.36.1-81:1.36.1-91:1.37.0-11:1.37.0-101:1.37.0-10.11:1.37.0-21:1.37.0-31:1.37.0-41:1.37.0-51:1.37.0-61:1.37.0-71:1.37.0-81:1.37.0-91:1.38.0-11:1.38.0-21:1.38.0-3
 None known
busybox
Debian:13
 All versions, plus listed versions
1:1.37.0-101:1.37.0-10.11:1.37.0-61:1.37.0-71:1.37.0-8
Show 4 moreShow less
1:1.37.0-91:1.38.0-11:1.38.0-21:1.38.0-3
 None known
busybox
Debian:14
 All versions, plus listed versions
1:1.37.0-101:1.37.0-10.11:1.37.0-61:1.37.0-71:1.37.0-8
Show 4 moreShow less
1:1.37.0-91:1.38.0-11:1.38.0-21:1.38.0-3
 None known
busybox
openEuler:24.03-LTS-SP3
From an advisory covering 7 CVEs
 before 1.36.1-25.oe2403sp3
1.36.1-25.oe2403sp3
busybox
openEuler:24.03-LTS-SP4
From an advisory covering 7 CVEs
 before 1.36.1-25.oe2403sp4
1.36.1-25.oe2403sp4
busybox
openEuler:22.03-LTS-SP4
From an advisory covering 7 CVEs
 before 1.34.1-38.oe2203sp4
1.34.1-38.oe2203sp4
busybox
openEuler:24.03-LTS-SP1
From an advisory covering 7 CVEs
 before 1.36.1-25.oe2403sp1
1.36.1-25.oe2403sp1
busybox
Red Hat:hummingbird:1
From an advisory covering 2 CVEs
 before 0:1.37.0-9.4.hum1
0:1.37.0-9.4.hum1
busybox-petitboot
Red Hat:hummingbird:1
From an advisory covering 2 CVEs
 before 0:1.37.0-9.4.hum1
0:1.37.0-9.4.hum1
Show 10 moreShow less
Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
busybox-shared
Red Hat:hummingbird:1
From an advisory covering 2 CVEs
 before 0:1.37.0-9.4.hum1
0:1.37.0-9.4.hum1
busybox
Ubuntu:Pro:14.04:LTS
 All versions, plus listed versions
1:1.20.0-8.1ubuntu11:1.20.0-9ubuntu11:1.20.0-9ubuntu21:1.21.0-1ubuntu11:1.21.0-1ubuntu1.41:1.21.0-1ubuntu1.4+esm1
 None known
busybox
Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS
 All versions, plus listed versions
1:1.22.0-15ubuntu11:1.22.0-15ubuntu1.41:1.22.0-15ubuntu1.4+esm11:1.22.0-15ubuntu1.4+esm2
 None known
busybox
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS
 All versions, plus listed versions
1:1.22.0-19ubuntu21:1.27.2-1ubuntu31:1.27.2-1ubuntu41:1.27.2-2ubuntu21:1.27.2-2ubuntu3
Show 5 moreShow less
1:1.27.2-2ubuntu3.11:1.27.2-2ubuntu3.21:1.27.2-2ubuntu3.31:1.27.2-2ubuntu3.41:1.27.2-2ubuntu3.4+esm1
 None known
busybox
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS
 All versions, plus listed versions
1:1.30.1-4ubuntu41:1.30.1-4ubuntu51:1.30.1-4ubuntu61:1.30.1-4ubuntu6.11:1.30.1-4ubuntu6.21:1.30.1-4ubuntu6.31:1.30.1-4ubuntu6.41:1.30.1-4ubuntu6.5
 None known
busybox
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS
 All versions, plus listed versions
1:1.30.1-6ubuntu31:1.30.1-7ubuntu11:1.30.1-7ubuntu21:1.30.1-7ubuntu31:1.30.1-7ubuntu3.1
 None known
busybox
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS
 All versions, plus listed versions
1:1.36.1-3ubuntu11:1.36.1-6ubuntu11:1.36.1-6ubuntu31:1.36.1-6ubuntu3.1
 None known
busybox
Ubuntu:26.10
 All versions, plus listed versions
1:1.37.0-7ubuntu11:1.37.0-10.1ubuntu21:1.37.0-10.1ubuntu31:1.38.0-3ubuntu11:1.38.0-3ubuntu31:1.38.0-3ubuntu4
 None known
busybox
Ubuntu:26.04:LTS
 All versions, plus listed versions
1:1.37.0-4ubuntu11:1.37.0-7ubuntu1
 None known
busybox
openSUSE:Tumbleweed
From an advisory covering 8 CVEs
 before 1.38.0-4.1
1.38.0-4.1

History

History
RecordedChangedSources
affected, facts
factsOSV
first indexedCVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV

Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.

In short

CVE-2026-88842 is a low vulnerability (CVSS 3.3) in Red Hat Hardened Images, published October 14, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.16%, the 4th percentile. No source names a fixed version.

References

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