universal-ctags up to 6.2.1 V Language Parser parsers/v.c parseExpression/parseExprList recursion

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability identified as problematic has been detected in universal-ctags ctags up to 6.2.1. The impacted element is the function parseExpression/parseExprList of the file parsers/v.c of the component V Language Parser. The manipulation leads to recursion. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-2641. Local access is required to approach this attack. Moreover, an exploit is present. The project was informed of the problem early through an issue report but has not responded yet.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in universal-ctags ctags up to 6.2.1 and classified as problematic. This issue affects the function parseExpression/parseExprList of the file parsers/v.c of the component V Language Parser. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a recursion vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-674. The product does not properly control the amount of recursion that takes place, consuming excessive resources, such as allocated memory or the program stack. Impacted is availability.

The advisory is shared at github.com. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-2641. The exploitation is known to be easy. An attack has to be approached locally. Technical details as well as a public exploit are known.

The exploit is available at github.com. It is declared as proof-of-concept. The project was informed of the problem early through an issue report but has not responded yet. The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 299393 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-2641), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

There is no information about possible countermeasures known. It may be suggested to replace the affected object with an alternative product.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at Tenable (299393). If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.

Productinfo

Vendor

• universal-ctags

Name

• ctags

Version

• 6.2.0
• 6.2.1

Website

• Product: https://github.com/universal-ctags/ctags/

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Accepted

• Submit #752768: universal-ctags ctags master-branch Uncontrolled Recursion (by Oneafter)

If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.

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