CVE-2026-31972

CRITICALNVD 9.89.8
EchelonGraph scoreMEDIUM confidence

“—” beside the score: it is equal to NVD's CVSS score.

This critical-severity CVE scores 9.8 under NVD CVSS v3. EPSS exploit probability: 0.5% (45th percentile of EPSS-scored CVEs). No GitHub Security Advisory CVSS is on record for this CVE.

Triggered by: Headline CVSS from NVD CVSS v3
Sources: EPSS, NVD CVSS v3

Also known asEUVD-2026-12956 (ENISA EUVD)Source: ENISA EUVD

9.8EG
EchelonGraph verdictPlan a fixRemediate within your standard update timelines at low or medium mission impact and sooner than that at high (the SSVC decision on this page).
  • High severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS PROB: 0.5%CVSS: 9.8Exploit: None knownExposed services: Not assessed

A fix is available — apply it.

SAMtools is a program for reading, manipulating and writing bioinformatics file formats. The mpileup command outputs DNA sequences that have been aligned against a known reference. On each output line it writes the reference position, optionally the reference DNA base at that position (obtained from a separate file) and all of the DNA bases that aligned to that position. As the output is ordered by position, reference data that is no longer needed is discarded once it has been printed out. Under certain conditions the data could be discarded too early, leading to an attempt to read from a pointer to freed memory. This bug may allow information about program state to be leaked. It may also cause a program crash through an attempt to access invalid memory. This bug is fixed in versions 1.21.1 and 1.22. There is no workaround for this issue.

CVSS v3
9.8
EG Score
9.8CRITICALmedium confidence
EG Risk
59
EG Risk 59/100

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score. It fuses impact severity (EG Severity, the CVSS base score, never the KEV-floored or EPSS-lifted EG Score) with real-world exploitation and automatability, under weights EchelonGraph set by hand, so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner.

How it’s computed (value × EchelonGraph’s weight)
Severity98% × 45%
Impact severity (EG Severity): CVSS 9.8 of 10. Never the KEV-floored or EPSS-lifted EG Score.
Exploitation0.5% × 40%
FIRST EPSS: the 30-day exploitation probability when EchelonGraph scored this CVE.
Automatability100% × 15%
CISA's SSVC Automatable value: yes (Vulnrichment).
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph): Track at low or medium mission impact; Attend at high (mission-essential systems).
Exploitation none (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable yes (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE.
Action: A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines at low or medium mission impact and sooner than that at high.
EPSS PROB
0.5%
EPSS %ILE
45th
KEV
Not listed

What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)

The EG score (9.8): severity, escalated by confirmed exploitation. This CVE's 9.8 is its impact severity (EG Severity), not escalated.

EG Severity
9.8 CRITICALCVSS-B, impact only: no KEV listing, EPSS or EG-KEV tier raises it.NVD CVSS v3 · CVSS v3.0 or v3.1
EG Likelihood
0.5% within 30 daysSource: FIRST EPSS (model v2026.06.15, score date 2026-11-01). FIRST's exploitation probability, not an EchelonGraph model.
Confirmed exploitation
None on record (CISA KEV, EG-KEV Tier 1)Reported apart from the likelihood: an observed fact, not a probability.
EG Priority
SSVC Track at medium mission impactTrack at low or medium mission impact; Attend at high (mission-essential systems).CISA BOD 26-04: 14 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; 60 days if it is not.Each input and its source, and whom BOD 26-04 binds: the SSVC and BOD 26-04 blocks below.

SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Track at low or medium mission impact; Attend at high (mission-essential systems).

A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines at low or medium mission impact and sooner than that at high.

Exploitation none (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable yes (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table

BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)14 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; 60 days if it is not.

The score's inputs: In CISA KEV no (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable yes (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it

Published

March 18, 2026

Last Modified

June 17, 2026

Advisory Details (3)

Auto-updated Oct 31, 2026
Patch available. Sources: github_commit, github.
Web pageMentions a patch (unverified)

oss-security - CVE-2026-31972: samtools <= 1.21 Use-after-free in mpileup leading to an invalid read

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/03/18/11
GitHub advisoryMentions a patch (unverified)

Use-after-free in samtools mpileup leading to an invalid read · Advisory · samtools/samtools · GitHub

Affected: versions 1.21.1 and 1.22

https://github.com/samtools/samtools/security/advisories/GHSA-72c8-4jf3-f27p
GitHub commit Patch Available

commit 3036eb9af945 (samtools/samtools)

Patch available: samtools/samtools 1.23 (contains commit 3036eb9af945)

https://github.com/samtools/samtools/commit/3036eb9af945fcef359427a2d359855553da4adf

Affected Packages

(4 across 4 ecosystems)
Debian:11(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
samtools1.11-1 ... 1.22.1-1 (19 versions)
  • every version on: no fix on record
—
Debian:12(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
samtools1.16.1-1 ... 1.24-2 (14 versions)
  • every version on: no fix on record
—
Debian:13(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
samtools1.21-1, 1.22.1-1, 1.24-1, 1.24-2
  • every version on: no fix on record
—
Debian:14(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
samtools1.21-1, 1.22.1-1, 1.24-1, 1.24-2
  • every version on: no fix on record
—

Weakness Classification(1)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 13× in last 7d / 57× in last 30d)

Each row is a time one of our pipelines fetched, updated or re-scored this CVE. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. An arrow marks a change the record states ("CVSS v3 → 9.1"); EPSS and GHSA rows show the values recorded at that time, not what changed (EPSS values are rounded; hover one for the exact figures). Most recent first.

Showing the most recent 95 of 125 refreshes on record for this CVE.

A repeat, a row identical to one the same pipeline wrote less than 10 seconds earlier, is not a separate refresh and is not counted. 5 repeat rows among the latest 100 are merged into the row they repeat. The 30 oldest rows on record are not shown and were not checked, so the counts can still include repeats.

  1. 2026-11-02 16:44 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 45th percentile
  2. 2026-11-02 05:50 UTCEG score recompute
  3. 2026-11-01 16:34 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 45th percentile
  4. 2026-11-01 07:51 UTCEG score recompute
  5. 2026-10-31 16:32 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 45th percentile
  6. 2026-10-31 09:50 UTCEG score recompute
  7. 2026-10-30 16:34 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 45th percentile
  8. 2026-10-30 11:51 UTCEG score recompute
  9. 2026-10-29 16:33 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 45th percentile
  10. 2026-10-29 13:53 UTCEG score recompute
  11. 2026-10-28 16:32 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 45th percentile
  12. 2026-10-27 17:54 UTCEG score recompute
  13. 2026-10-27 16:31 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 45th percentile
  14. 2026-10-26 19:54 UTCEG score recompute
  15. 2026-10-26 16:31 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 44th percentile
  16. 2026-10-25 19:39 UTCEG score recompute
  17. 2026-10-25 16:32 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 44th percentile
  18. 2026-10-25 14:36 UTCEG score recompute
  19. 2026-10-24 21:39 UTCEG score recompute
  20. 2026-10-24 16:32 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.7% · 51st percentile
  21. 2026-10-23 23:40 UTCEG score recompute
  22. 2026-10-23 16:31 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.7% · 51st percentile
  23. 2026-10-23 01:04 UTCEG score recompute
  24. 2026-10-22 16:34 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.7% · 51st percentile
  25. 2026-10-22 02:19 UTCEG score recompute
Show 70 more
  1. 2026-10-21 16:32 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.7% · 51st percentile
  2. 2026-10-21 04:00 UTCEG score recompute
  3. 2026-10-20 16:33 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.7% · 51st percentile
  4. 2026-10-20 05:58 UTCEG score recompute
  5. 2026-10-19 16:31 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.7% · 51st percentile
  6. 2026-10-19 07:51 UTCEG score recompute
  7. 2026-10-18 16:31 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.7% · 51st percentile
  8. 2026-10-18 03:48 UTCEG score recompute
  9. 2026-10-17 16:34 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.7% · 51st percentile
  10. 2026-10-17 06:23 UTCEG score recompute
  11. 2026-10-16 16:41 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.7% · 51st percentile
  12. 2026-10-16 07:44 UTCEG score recompute
  13. 2026-10-15 16:32 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.7% · 51st percentile
  14. 2026-10-15 06:42 UTCEG score recompute
  15. 2026-10-14 16:32 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.7% · 50th percentile
  16. 2026-10-14 02:24 UTCEG score recompute
  17. 2026-10-13 16:34 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.7% · 50th percentile
  18. 2026-10-12 22:38 UTCEG score recompute
  19. 2026-10-12 16:34 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.7% · 50th percentile
  20. 2026-10-12 16:14 UTCEG score recompute
  21. 2026-10-11 19:57 UTCEG score recompute
  22. 2026-10-11 17:10 UTCEG score recompute
  23. 2026-10-11 14:38 UTCEG score recompute
  24. 2026-10-11 13:48 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.7% · 50th percentile
  25. 2026-10-11 08:55 UTCOSV refresh
  26. 2026-10-10 20:00 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.7% · 49th percentile
  27. 2026-10-09 20:07 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.7% · 49th percentile
  28. 2026-10-08 17:12 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.7% · 49th percentile
  29. 2026-10-07 23:47 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.7% · 49th percentile
  30. 2026-10-06 15:17 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.7% · 49th percentile
  31. 2026-10-05 17:42 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.7% · 49th percentile
  32. 2026-10-04 23:22 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.7% · 49th percentile
  33. 2026-10-03 14:25 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.7% · 49th percentile
  34. 2026-10-01 19:49 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.7% · 49th percentile
  35. 2026-09-30 15:03 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.7% · 49th percentile
  36. 2026-09-28 13:51 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.7% · 49th percentile
  37. 2026-09-26 15:58 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.7% · 49th percentile
  38. 2026-09-26 00:26 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.7% · 49th percentile
  39. 2026-09-21 21:45 UTCOSV refresh
  40. 2026-09-20 20:15 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
  41. 2026-09-18 19:27 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
  42. 2026-09-17 19:30 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
  43. 2026-09-16 14:08 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
  44. 2026-09-16 05:15 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
  45. 2026-09-13 16:47 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
  46. 2026-09-12 15:01 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
  47. 2026-09-11 14:52 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
  48. 2026-09-10 09:34 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
  49. 2026-09-08 22:00 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
  50. 2026-09-07 16:01 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
  51. 2026-09-06 13:47 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
  52. 2026-09-04 05:06 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
  53. 2026-09-02 18:08 UTCOSV refresh
  54. 2026-09-02 14:11 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
  55. 2026-09-01 13:53 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
  56. 2026-09-01 04:39 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
  57. 2026-08-30 19:17 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
  58. 2026-08-30 01:22 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
  59. 2026-08-28 21:41 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
  60. 2026-08-27 14:25 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
  61. 2026-08-26 14:46 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
  62. 2026-08-25 13:49 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
  63. 2026-08-24 14:17 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
  64. 2026-08-23 00:19 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
  65. 2026-08-21 23:49 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
  66. 2026-08-20 22:55 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
  67. 2026-08-19 17:03 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
  68. 2026-08-18 13:48 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
  69. 2026-08-17 13:47 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
  70. 2026-08-16 14:56 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile

Related CVEs(same product + same CWE)

Same product

1 shown

Debian:11:samtools

Frequently asked(5)

What is CVE-2026-31972?
CVE-2026-31972 is a critical-severity vulnerability; its CVE record was published on March 18, 2026. SAMtools is a program for reading, manipulating and writing bioinformatics file formats. The mpileup command outputs DNA sequences that have been aligned against a known reference. On each output line it writes the reference position, optionally the reference DNA base at that position (obtained…
When was the CVE record for CVE-2026-31972 published?
The CVE record for CVE-2026-31972 was published on March 18, 2026. That is the record's publication date; the vulnerability itself may have been made public earlier. EchelonGraph's copy of the record carries a last-modified date of June 17, 2026; the record at its source may have been updated since.
Is CVE-2026-31972 actively exploited?
CVE-2026-31972 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 0.5% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days (45th percentile of EPSS-scored CVEs).
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-31972?
CVE-2026-31972 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.8 (NVD).
How do I remediate CVE-2026-31972?
A fix for CVE-2026-31972 is available: update to the fixed version the vendor names in its advisory.

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