SQLite 3.41 ORDER BY Clause Parsing src/expr.c sqlite3ExprListDelete use after free

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability has been found in SQLite 3.41 and classified as critical. The affected element is the function sqlite3ExprListDelete of the file src/expr.c of the component ORDER BY Clause Parsing. The manipulation leads to use after free. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-51304. The attack is possible to be carried out remotely. No exploit exists.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in SQLite 3.41 and classified as critical. This issue affects the function sqlite3ExprListDelete of the file src/expr.c of the component ORDER BY Clause Parsing. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

sqlite 3.41 has a use-after-free (UAF) vulnerability in the ORDER BY clause parsing routine. The affected code first releases the memory of an ExprList object via sqlite3ExprListDelete(), then attempts to access the nExpr member of the already freed object. This dangling pointer access causes invalid memory read operations. By constructing a malicious SQL statement containing an ORDER BY clause with a large number of items, a remote adversary can trigger this vulnerability. Successful exploitation can result in application crash (denial of service), leakage of sensitive memory contents, and under certain memory layout conditions, arbitrary code execution on the affected system.

The advisory is shared at github.com. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-51304 since 06/07/2026. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be initiated remotely. It demands that the victim is doing some kind of user interaction. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 07/27/2026).

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

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Productinfo

Name

• SQLite

Version

• 3.41

License

• free

Website

• Product: https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/

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