CVE-2026-56288: GNU patch is vulnerable to a NULL pointer dereference when processing a specially crafted unified-diff patch file. Improper handling of consecutive end-of-file newline markers can

unknownCVE-2026-56288

GNU patch is vulnerable to a NULL pointer dereference when processing a specially crafted unified-diff patch file. Improper handling of consecutive end-of-file newline markers can corrupt internal hunk (single block of changes in diff) data structures, causing the application to pass a NULL pointer to fwrite() during patch processing. An attacker can trigger this condition with a malicious patch file, causing the utility to crash and resulting in a denial of service. This issue has been fixed in the commit e6d6a4e021660679d7fc9150f981d4920f722313

Details

Source: NVD Recent CVEs (US · database · site)
Severity: unknown
Published: 2026-07-09
Last updated: 2026-07-09
Exploitation: Not in CISA KEV at last sync

Original advisory: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-56288

Exploitation outlook

EPSS (FIRST.org) estimates each CVE’s probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — here is the CSIRTS.com read on those numbers.

Low exploitation riskCVE-2026-562880.13% 30-day exploitation probability — currently an unlikely target, but scores change as exploit code circulates. Riskier than 3% of all scored CVEs.

Referenced CVEs

CVE	CSIRTS overview	External
CVE-2026-56288	coverage & exploitation status	NVD · CVE.org

Same CVEs, other sources

How other CERTs, PSIRTs and databases cover the vulnerabilities in this advisory.

low[NEW] [low] patch: Multiple vulnerabilities allow denial of servicecert-bund
unknownCVE-2026-56288: NULL Pointer Dereference in GNU patchmsrc

Recent advisories for GNU patch is

A cluster of recent advisories against the same product widens the attack surface — attackers routinely chain freshly published CVEs on one product, so review these together.

unknownCVE-2026-56289: GNU patch is vulnerable to a denial of service (DoS) due to improper validation of hunk (singl…nvd · 2026-07-09
unknownCVE-2026-56288: NULL Pointer Dereference in GNU patchmsrc · 2026-07-02
unknownCVE-2026-56289: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition in GNU patchmsrc · 2026-07-02