CVE-2026-31964
7.5 · HIGHOverview
CVE-2026-31964 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting htslib htslib. It was published on March 18, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5, rated HIGH. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
Technical Description
HTSlib is a library for reading and writing bioinformatics file formats. CRAM is a compressed format which stores DNA sequence alignment data using a variety of encodings and compression methods. While most alignment records store DNA sequence and quality values, the format also allows them to omit this data in certain cases to save space. Due to some quirks of the CRAM format, it is necessary to handle these records carefully as they will actually store data that needs to be consumed and then discarded. Unfortunately the `CONST`, `XPACK` and `XRLE` encodings did not properly implement the interface needed to do this. Trying to decode records with omitted sequence or quality data using these encodings would result in an attempt to write to a NULL pointer. Exploiting this bug causes a NULL pointer dereference. Typically this will cause the program to crash. Versions 1.23.1, 1.22.2 and 1.21.1 include fixes for this issue. There is no workaround for this issue.
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from htslib. Update htslib to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| htslib | htslib | >= 0, < 1.21.1 | Affected |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2026-31964?
CVE-2026-31964 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting htslib htslib. It was published on March 18, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH).
How severe is CVE-2026-31964?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5, rated HIGH. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2026-31964?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from htslib. Update htslib to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2026-31964?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2026-31964 across your infrastructure using autonomous pentesting, DAST scanning, and HackBrowser. The platform continuously monitors for known vulnerabilities and provides actionable remediation guidance prioritized by real-world exploitability.
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