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Vulnerabilities

Vulnerability · CVE-2026-31973

SAMtools is a program for reading, manipulating and writing bioinformatics file formats.

Published Mar 18, 2026 · catalog updated Jun 17, 2026 · SAMtools is a program

Check if you run it

No confirmed exploitation is on record for CVE-2026-31973. EPSS is 0.64%. Act only if a listed version of SAMtools is a program is installed.

Gaps on this record

  • The stored product name is a package slug. The name on this page is taken from the title (SAMtools is a program).
  • No vendor fix or required action is stored. Compare the linked advisory before you change production.
Severity
Medium6.9
Known exploitation
Not in CISA/VulnCheck KEV
EPSS
0.64%
Remediation
Advisory link
Affected products
cpe samtools/samtools

SAMtools is a program for reading, manipulating and writing bioinformatics file formats. Starting in version 1.17, in the cram-size command, used to write information about how well CRAM files are compressed, a check to see if the was missing. If the function returned an error, this could lead to a NULL pointer dereference. 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.

Are you affected?

Enter the version you run. The result uses only the ranges stored on this record.

The check returns affected, not affected, or incomplete. It does not guess a version that is missing from the record.

  • cpe samtools/samtools1.23

How to fix CVE-2026-31973

What to do

Three questions, each answered from this record only. Confirm the vendor advisory before you patch.

Should you patch?

No confirmed exploitation is on record for CVE-2026-31973. EPSS is 0.64%. Act only if a listed version of SAMtools is a program is installed.

Which versions are affected?

Compare what you have installed with 1.23. Compare the installed version with the linked vendor advisory before you change production.

What should an analyst verify?

CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference. EPSS 0.64%. There is no CISA KEV listing. No Exploit-DB or Metasploit reference is linked. Use the source links for the original advisory.

Code

The project this record applies to. Exploit listings stay in References.

Timeline

Detection, updates, and resolution for this record.

  1. Mar 18, 2026 · NIST NVD

    Detected

    SAMtools is a program for reading, manipulating and writing bioinformatics file formats. Starting in version 1.17, in the cram-size command, used to write information about how well CRAM files are compressed, a check to see if the was missing. If the function returned an error, this could lead to a NULL pointer dereference. Exploiting this bug causes a NULL pointer dereference. Typically this will

  2. Jun 17, 2026 · NIST NVD

    Updated

    SAMtools is a program for reading, manipulating and writing bioinformatics file formats. Starting in version 1.17, in the cram-size command, used to write information about how well CRAM files are compressed, a check to see if the was missing. If the function returned an error, this could lead to a NULL pointer dereference. Exploiting this bug causes a NULL pointer dereference. Typically this will

Sources

  • CVE.orgVulnerability recordCVE-2026-31973

    Official CVE identifier

    cve.org
  • FIRST EPSSExploitation probabilityCVE-2026-31973

    30-day exploitation probability 0.6%

    first.org
  • NIST NVDVulnerability recordCVE-2026-31973

    SAMtools is a program for reading, manipulating and writing bioinformatics file formats. Starting in version 1.17, in the cram-size command, used to write information about how well CRAM files are compressed, a check to see if the was missing. I

    nvd.nist.gov

References

Freshness

Last verified in this catalog Oct 18, 2026. Significant claims (KEV, EPSS, CVSS, affected ranges) come from the source rows above — open the original publisher for the authoritative advisory.