Description
A flaw was found in popt, a command-line option parsing library. An off-by-one error in the poptStuffArgs function, when repeatedly called by a host application or through deep alias nesting, can lead to corruption of internal program data. This corruption could potentially enable a local attacker to execute arbitrary code if the host application then unsafely processes the altered data.
Published: 2026-08-04
Score: 2.5 Low
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
AI Analysis

Impact

An off‑by‑one error in the poptStuffArgs function of the popt command‑line option parsing library can corrupt internal program data. If a host application then processes the altered data unsafely, a local attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code. The weakness is an out‑of‑bounds write (CWE‑787).

Affected Systems

The vulnerability affects any system that uses the popt library, particularly host applications that repeatedly call poptStuffArgs or employ deep alias nesting. No specific vendor or product version information is provided in the CVE data.

Risk and Exploitability

The CVSS score of 2.5 indicates low severity. The EPSS score is not available and the vulnerability is not listed in CISA KEV. Exploitation requires local access and depends on the host application processing the corrupted data unsafely. Overall risk is low to moderate, but local code execution is possible if the conditions are met.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on August 4, 2026 at 09:04 UTC.

Remediation

No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.

OpenCVE Recommended Actions

  • Update the popt library to a version that includes the fix for the poptStuffArgs off‑by‑one error.
  • Limit local access to the vulnerable application by ensuring it runs under a least‑privilege user account.
  • Analyze the application’s use of popt to prevent repeated calls or deep alias nesting, and sanitize argument input before processing.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on August 4, 2026 at 09:04 UTC.

Tracking

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Advisories

No advisories yet.

History

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 13:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
References

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 10:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Popt-devel
Popt-devel popt-static
Vendors & Products Popt-devel
Popt-devel popt-static

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 23:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Redhat openshift
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:openshift:4
Vendors & Products Redhat openshift

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 23:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:openshift:4
Vendors & Products Redhat openshift

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 14:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 05:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Title popt-devel: popt-static: Off-by-one in poptStuffArgs Popt-devel: popt-static: off-by-one in poptstuffargs
First Time appeared Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux
Redhat hummingbird
Redhat openshift
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:hummingbird:1
cpe:/a:redhat:openshift:4
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:10
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:6
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9
Vendors & Products Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux
Redhat hummingbird
Redhat openshift
References

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 00:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description A flaw was found in popt, a command-line option parsing library. An off-by-one error in the poptStuffArgs function, when repeatedly called by a host application or through deep alias nesting, can lead to corruption of internal program data. This corruption could potentially enable a local attacker to execute arbitrary code if the host application then unsafely processes the altered data.
Title popt-devel: popt-static: Off-by-one in poptStuffArgs
Weaknesses CWE-787
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

 cvssV3_1

{'score': 2.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L'}

threat_severity

Low

Subscriptions

Popt-devel Popt-static
Redhat Enterprise Linux Hummingbird Openshift
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: redhat

Published:

Updated: 2026-08-21T12:48:26.933Z

Reserved: 2026-08-03T20:48:59.224Z

Link: CVE-2026-18739

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-08-04T13:44:44.652Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Awaiting Analysis

Published: 2026-08-04T06:16:30.330

Modified: 2026-08-21T13:16:55.597

Link: CVE-2026-18739

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Low

Publid Date: 2026-08-03T18:46:11Z

Links: CVE-2026-18739 - Bugzilla

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-08-05T10:17:46Z

Weaknesses