CVE catalog
CVE-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 com
- Severity
- High · CVSS 7.5
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Published
- Source
- [NVD] · [CVE record]
- EPSS
- 0.54% · Oct 25, 2026
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 `cram_decode_compression_header()` 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.
Vulnerable and fixed packages
Distribution-reported package versions and fixes. These do not depend on matching against the OpenFactory package catalog.
| Distribution | Package | Release | Version | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debian | samtools | sid | 1.24-2 | vulnerable |
| Debian | samtools | forky | 1.24-2 | vulnerable |
| Debian | samtools | trixie | 1.21-1 | vulnerable |
| Debian | samtools | bookworm | 1.16.1-1 | vulnerable |
| Cpe | samtools | Not reported | Not reported | vulnerable |
Fixed-version evidence
| Distribution | Package | Type | Release | Fixed version | Urgency | Origin | Bugs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debian | samtools | source | sid | (unfixed) | unimportant | Not reported | Not reported |
| Debian | samtools | source | forky | (unfixed) | unimportant | Not reported | Not reported |
| Debian | samtools | source | trixie | (unfixed) | unimportant | Not reported | Not reported |
| Debian | samtools | source | bookworm | (unfixed) | unimportant | Not reported | Not reported |
OpenFactory catalog packages
[Debian 12 (Bookworm)]
- [samtools]Affected
Details (2)
1.16.1-1· amd64 · bookwormAffected
nvd · samtools · debian · bookworm; nvd · samtools · debian · 12
1.16.1-1· arm64 · bookwormAffected
nvd · samtools · debian · bookworm; nvd · samtools · debian · 12
- [samtools-test]Affected
Source package: [samtools]
Details (2)
1.16.1-1· all · bookwormAffected
nvd · samtools · debian · bookworm; nvd · samtools · debian · 12
1.16.1-1· all · bookwormAffected
nvd · samtools · debian · bookworm; nvd · samtools · debian · 12
[Debian 13 (Trixie)]
- [samtools]Affected
Details (2)
1.21-1· amd64 · trixieAffected
nvd · samtools · debian · 13
1.21-1· arm64 · trixieAffected
nvd · samtools · debian · 13
- [samtools-test]Affected
Source package: [samtools]
Details (2)
1.21-1· all · trixieAffected
nvd · samtools · debian · 13
1.21-1· all · trixieAffected
nvd · samtools · debian · 13
Observed:
References
- [https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-31973]
- [https://osv.dev/vulnerability/DEBIAN-CVE-2026-31973]
- [https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-31973]
- [https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-31973.json]
[Debian Security Tracker] · [FIRST EPSS] · [National Vulnerability Database (NVD)] · [OSV Package Vulnerability Database] · [Red Hat security advisories and VEX]