Vulnerability · Published Sep 23, 2026 · Assigned by redhat

CVE-2026-96442Emacs: emacs: arbitrary code execution in flymake mode

High 7.8

In plain English

A high-severity code injection in GNU Emacs from GNU Emacs. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.2% (higher than 10% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.

Severity (CVSS 3.1)7.8High

Exploit odds (30 days)0.2%top 89.9% of all CVEs

Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none

Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

A code execution flaw was found in Emacs, affecting versions prior to 31.2. The Flymake mode using language backends other than Lisp would execute arbitrary code from the edited file while performing syntax checking. Viewing or editing untrusted files using Emacs could lead to arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the user running Emacs.

Affected packages & fixed versions

Ecosystem	Package	Fixed in	Advisory
AlmaLinux:10	emacs	1:29.4-14.el10_2.3	ALSA-2026:84591
AlmaLinux:8	emacs	1:26.1-15.el8_10.4	ALSA-2026:90800
AlmaLinux:9	emacs	1:27.2-18.el9_8.3	ALSA-2026:85245
AlmaLinux:10	emacs-common	1:29.4-14.el10_2.3	ALSA-2026:84591
AlmaLinux:8	emacs-common	1:26.1-15.el8_10.4	ALSA-2026:90800
AlmaLinux:9	emacs-common	1:27.2-18.el9_8.3	ALSA-2026:85245
AlmaLinux:10	emacs-filesystem	1:29.4-14.el10_2.3	ALSA-2026:84591
AlmaLinux:8	emacs-filesystem	1:26.1-15.el8_10.4	ALSA-2026:90800
AlmaLinux:9	emacs-filesystem	1:27.2-18.el9_8.3	ALSA-2026:85245
AlmaLinux:10	emacs-lucid	1:29.4-14.el10_2.3	ALSA-2026:84591
AlmaLinux:8	emacs-lucid	1:26.1-15.el8_10.4	ALSA-2026:90800
AlmaLinux:9	emacs-lucid	1:27.2-18.el9_8.3	ALSA-2026:85245
AlmaLinux:8	emacs-nox	1:26.1-15.el8_10.4	ALSA-2026:90800
AlmaLinux:9	emacs-nox	1:27.2-18.el9_8.3	ALSA-2026:85245
AlmaLinux:10	emacs-nw	1:29.4-14.el10_2.3	ALSA-2026:84591
AlmaLinux:8	emacs-terminal	1:26.1-15.el8_10.4	ALSA-2026:90800
Debian:12	emacs	no fix listed	DEBIAN-CVE-2026-96442
Debian:13	emacs	no fix listed	DEBIAN-CVE-2026-96442
Debian:14	emacs	no fix listed	DEBIAN-CVE-2026-96442
Rocky Linux:10	emacs	1:29.4-14.el10_2.3	RLSA-2026:84591
Rocky Linux:8	emacs	1:26.1-15.el8_10.4	RLSA-2026:90800
Rocky Linux:9	emacs	1:27.2-18.el9_8.3	RLSA-2026:85245
Ubuntu:26.10	emacs	no fix listed	UBUNTU-CVE-2026-96442
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS	xemacs21	no fix listed	UBUNTU-CVE-2026-96442
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS	xemacs21	no fix listed	UBUNTU-CVE-2026-96442
Ubuntu:26.04:LTS	xemacs21	no fix listed	UBUNTU-CVE-2026-96442
Ubuntu:26.10	xemacs21	no fix listed	UBUNTU-CVE-2026-96442
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS	xemacs21-packages	no fix listed	UBUNTU-CVE-2026-96442
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS	xemacs21-packages	no fix listed	UBUNTU-CVE-2026-96442
Ubuntu:26.04:LTS	xemacs21-packages	no fix listed	UBUNTU-CVE-2026-96442
Ubuntu:26.10	xemacs21-packages	no fix listed	UBUNTU-CVE-2026-96442

Affected products (as reported)

Vendor	Product	Versions
GNU Emacs	GNU Emacs	0 – before 31.2
Red Hat	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10	see references
Red Hat	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8	see references
Red Hat	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8	see references
Red Hat	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9	see references
Red Hat	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6	see references
Red Hat	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7	see references

Weakness: CWE-94 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

References

RHSA-2026:84591 vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
RHSA-2026:85245 vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
RHSA-2026:90800 vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-96442 vdb-entry, x_refsource_REDHAT
RHBZ#2537347 issue-tracking, x_refsource_REDHAT
https://github.com/emacs-mirror/emacs/commit/135e6f63f08fee3d374fa1a5187bce941a2d3e3c
https://github.com/emacs-mirror/emacs/commit/abc802ee2eb0b1663349ddf22a461f8e54a383fb
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/09/14/1