USN-8512-1: Gzip vulnerabilities

unknownCVE-2026-41991 CVE-2026-41992

It was discovered that Gzip's gzexe utility handled temporary files in an insecure manner. When the mktemp utility was not available, gzexe constructed a temporary file path based on the process ID, which could be predicted. A local attacker could possibly use this issue to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack. (CVE-2026-41991) It was discovered that Gzip incorrectly handled certain compressed files. An attacker could possibly use this issue to obtain sensitive information or cause Gzip to crash, resulting in a denial of service. (CVE-2026-41992)

CSIRTS triage

vendor: Gzip product: Gzip Denial of service

What: Insecure handling of temporary files could allow a local attacker to overwrite arbitrary files.
Who is affected: Users of Gzip utilities.
Urgency: Remediation is important to prevent potential file overwriting attacks.
Action: Update Gzip to the latest version.

AI-assisted analysis generated from the source advisory — verify against the original.

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Details

Source: Ubuntu Security Notices (INTL · vendor-psirt · site)
Severity: unknown
Published: 2026-07-06
Exploitation: Not in CISA KEV at last sync

Original advisory: https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8512-1

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-2026-419910.10% 30-day exploitation probability — currently an unlikely target, but scores change as exploit code circulates. Riskier than 1% of all scored CVEs.
Low exploitation riskCVE-2026-419920.29% 30-day exploitation probability — currently an unlikely target, but scores change as exploit code circulates. Riskier than 21% of all scored CVEs.

Referenced CVEs

CVE	CSIRTS overview	External
CVE-2026-41991	coverage & exploitation status	NVD · CVE.org
CVE-2026-41992	coverage & exploitation status	NVD · CVE.org

Same CVEs, other sources

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