CVE-2026-31972
SAMtools is a program for reading, manipulating and writing bioinformatics file formats.
Published Mar 18, 2026 · updated Jun 17, 2026 · samtools samtools
SAMtools is a program for reading, manipulating and writing bioinformatics file formats. The 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.
Code
The project this record applies to. Exploit listings stay in References.
Timeline
Detection, updates, and resolution for this record.
Mar 18, 2026 · NIST NVD
Detected
SAMtools is a program for reading, manipulating and writing bioinformatics file formats. The 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 positi
Jun 17, 2026 · NIST NVD
Updated
SAMtools is a program for reading, manipulating and writing bioinformatics file formats. The 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 positi
Affected
- cpe samtools/samtoolsversion unspecified
Sources
- CVE.orgVulnerability recordCVE-2026-31972
Official CVE identifier
cve.org - NIST NVDVulnerability recordCVE-2026-31972
SAMtools is a program for reading, manipulating and writing bioinformatics file formats. The 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 p
nvd.nist.gov