Unauthenticated service crash via missing DIGEST-MD5 value
Published May 24, 2026 · Updated May 24, 2026
NULL pointer dereference in GNU SASL before 2.2.3 allows remote attackers to crash clients and servers through DIGEST-MD5 input. digest_md5_getsubopt in lib/digest-md5/getsubopt.c accepts a known directive without an equals sign, returns it with a NULL value, and downstream parser code dereferences that pointer. The flaw is reachable before authentication when an application enables DIGEST-MD5, terminating its hosting process without affecting confidentiality or integrity.
Summary
What happened
NULL pointer dereference in GNU SASL before 2.2.3 allows remote attackers to crash clients and servers through DIGEST-MD5 input. digest_md5_getsubopt in lib/digest-md5/getsubopt.c accepts a known directive without an equals sign, returns it with a NULL value, and downstream parser code dereferences that pointer. The flaw is reachable before authentication when an application enables DIGEST-MD5, terminating its hosting process without affecting confidentiality or integrity.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-48829
- Published
- May 24, 2026
- Updated
- May 24, 2026
- Vendor
- The GnuPG Project
- Product
- GNU SASL
- Classifications
- CWE-476, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 24, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 24, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=0 <2.2.3
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What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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Technologies
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Your stack
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