CVE-2026-48095
GHSL-2026-140_7-Zip: 7-Zip has a heap buffer overflow via NTFS compressed stream buffer under-allocation
Description
7-Zip is a file archiver with a high compression ratio. Versions 26.00 and prior contain a heap buffer overflow vulnerability caused by an under-allocation in the NTFS compressed stream buffer (GetCuSize shift UB), potentially allowing attackers to cause arbitrary code execution or application crashes. CInStream::GetCuSize() in the NTFS handler computes the compression-unit buffer size as (UInt32)1 << (BlockSizeLog + CompressionUnit), and a crafted image with ClusterSizeLog >= 28 and CompressionUnit == 4 drives the exponent to 32, which is undefined behavior and collapses on x86/x64 so _inBuf is allocated as 1 byte. ReadStream_FALSE then writes up to 256 MB of attacker-controlled data into that 1-byte buffer in 64 KB iterations, and because the CInStream object sits only 304 bytes after _inBuf, its vtable pointer is overwritten and the next dispatched call achieves a vtable hijack. On 32-bit builds the overflow is unconditionally reached; on 64-bit it requires the parallel 8 GB _outBuf allocation to succeed, otherwise failing closed to denial of service. The NTFS handler is enabled by default in stock 7z.dll and, via signature-based fallback matching "NTFS " at offset 3, will open a crafted image regardless of file extension during extraction or testing. Version 26.01 fixes the issue.
In plain language
AI Worth attentionCVE-2026-48095 is a crash/possible takeover bug in 7-Zip versions 26.00 and earlier when opening specially crafted NTFS-compressed files; if your business uses 7-Zip to extract untrusted archives, you should update to 26.01+.
In 7-zip (fixed in 26.01), a heap buffer overflow in the NTFS compressed stream handling can be triggered by crafted NTFS-compressed archive content, potentially leading to application crashes or code execution during extraction/testing.
What to do now
- Check which 7-zip version is installed (e.g., help/about) and whether you use it to extract/test archives from customers, email attachments, or downloaded files.
- If you’re on 26.00 or earlier, plan an update to 7-zip 26.01 or newer for all machines that run archive extraction.
- After updating, re-run a small “open/extract” test with any workflows that handle NTFS-compressed archives to confirm normal behavior.
CVSS Vector Breakdown
AV:NAttack VectorAC:LAttack ComplexityPR:NPrivileges RequiredUI:RUser InteractionS:UScopeC:HConfidentialityI:HIntegrityA:HAvailabilityWeaknesses
Affected Products
Exploitability
Attack Graph
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MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniquesReferences
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