Vulnerability · Published Sep 22, 2026 · Assigned by mitre
CVE-2026-96269
High 7.5
In plain English
A high-severity security flaw in Emacs from GNU. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.1% (higher than 4% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.
Severity (CVSS 4.0)7.5High
Exploit odds (30 days)0.1%top 96.5% of all CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none
Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known
Official description
GNU Emacs 28.1 through 31.1 allows arbitrary code execution upon opening a file, because an untrusted value of read-symbol-shorthands affects the intern and unintern functions. This affects the default configuration; no particular user settings are required to trigger it.
Affected packages & fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| AlmaLinux:10 | emacs | 1:29.4-14.el10_2.4 | ALSA-2026:90887 |
| AlmaLinux:10 | emacs-common | 1:29.4-14.el10_2.4 | ALSA-2026:90887 |
| AlmaLinux:10 | emacs-filesystem | 1:29.4-14.el10_2.4 | ALSA-2026:90887 |
| AlmaLinux:10 | emacs-lucid | 1:29.4-14.el10_2.4 | ALSA-2026:90887 |
| AlmaLinux:10 | emacs-nw | 1:29.4-14.el10_2.4 | ALSA-2026:90887 |
| Debian:12 | emacs | no fix listed | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-96269 |
| Debian:13 | emacs | 1:30.1+1-6+deb13u1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-96269 |
| Debian:14 | emacs | 1:30.2+1-11 | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-96269 |
| Rocky Linux:10 | emacs | 1:29.4-14.el10_2.4 | RLSA-2026:90887 |
| Ubuntu:26.10 | emacs | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-96269 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | xemacs21 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-96269 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | xemacs21 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-96269 |
| Ubuntu:26.04:LTS | xemacs21 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-96269 |
| Ubuntu:26.10 | xemacs21 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-96269 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | xemacs21-packages | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-96269 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | xemacs21-packages | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-96269 |
| Ubuntu:26.04:LTS | xemacs21-packages | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-96269 |
| Ubuntu:26.10 | xemacs21-packages | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-96269 |
Affected products (as reported)
Weakness: CWE-829 · Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
References
- https://yhetil.org/emacs/jwvtsph1aoj.fsf-monnier+emacs@gnu.org/T/#m319545e835fb71d764bf868166632d4633167a75
- https://debbugs.gnu.org/cgi/bugreport.cgi?bug=80574#227
- https://eshelyaron.com/posts/2026-08-06-emacs-arbitrary-code-execution-returns.html
- https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/08/20/3