CVE-2025-15281: wordexp with WRDE_REUSE and WRDE_APPEND may return uninitialized memory

Severity: high (CVSS 7.5 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.5% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-01-20 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-908

Description

Calling wordexp with WRDE_REUSE in conjunction with WRDE_APPEND in the GNU C Library version 2.0 to version 2.42 may cause the interface to return uninitialized memory in the we_wordv member, which on subsequent calls to wordfree may abort the process.

Affected products

GNU C Library (glibc): from 2.0 before 2.43 — fixed in 2.43

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: GNU C Library (glibc) 2.43. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=33814
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/01/20/3

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