jqlang jq up to 1.8.1 integer overflow

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as problematic has been found in jqlang jq up to 1.8.1. This affects an unknown function. The manipulation leads to integer overflow. This vulnerability is documented as CVE-2026-41257. The attack needs to be performed locally. There is not any exploit available.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, has been found in jqlang jq up to 1.8.1. This issue affects some unknown processing. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a integer overflow vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-190. The product performs a calculation that can produce an integer overflow or wraparound, when the logic assumes that the resulting value will always be larger than the original value. This can introduce other weaknesses when the calculation is used for resource management or execution control. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

jq is a command-line JSON processor. In 1.8.1 and earlier, the jq bytecode VM's data stack tracks its allocation size in a signed int. When the stack grows beyond ≈1 GiB (via deeply nested generator forks), the doubling arithmetic overflows. The wrapped value is passed to realloc and then used for a memmove with attacker-influenced offsets.

It is possible to read the advisory at github.com. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-41257 since 04/18/2026. The exploitation is known to be difficult. Attacking locally is a requirement. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not publicly available.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 316545 (Debian dla-4599 : jq - security update), 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 databases at Tenable (316545) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2026-1469). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Open Source jq

Productinfo

Vendor

• jqlang

Name

• jq

Version

• 1.8.0
• 1.8.1

Website

• Product: https://github.com/jqlang/jq/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

CVSSv3info

CVSSv2info

Exploitinginfo

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Countermeasuresinfo

Timelineinfo

Sourcesinfo

Entryinfo

Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Discussion