CVE-2026-31972

CRITICALNVD 9.89.8
EchelonGraph scoreLOW confidence

This critical-severity CVE scores 9.8 under NVD CVSS v3. EPSS exploit-prediction score not yet available (the EPSS model rescores nightly; freshly-published CVEs typically appear within 48 hours). GitHub Security Advisory data not yet ingested — confidence will rise once GHSA publishes (typical lag: hours to days for open-source ecosystem CVEs; never for infrastructure-only CVEs).

Triggered by: NVD CVSS baseline
Sources: nvd
9.8EG
EchelonGraph verdictPlan a fixSerious severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet.
  • High severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS PROB: 1%CVSS: 9.8Exploit: None knownExposed: 0

No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.

SAMtools is a program for reading, manipulating and writing bioinformatics file formats. The mpileup command outputs DNA sequences that have been aligned against a known reference. On each output line it writes the reference position, optionally the reference DNA base at that position (obtained from a separate file) and all of the DNA bases that aligned to that position. As the output is ordered by position, reference data that is no longer needed is discarded once it has been printed out. Under certain conditions the data could be discarded too early, leading to an attempt to read from a pointer to freed memory. This bug may allow information about program state to be leaked. It may also cause a program crash through an attempt to access invalid memory. This bug is fixed in versions 1.21.1 and 1.22. There is no workaround for this issue.

CVSS v3
9.8
EG Score
9.8(low)
EG Risk
49(Track)
EG Risk 49/100SSVC: Track

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).

How it’s computed
Severity98% × 45%
Exploitation0% × 40%
Automatability30% × 15%
Action: Routine — remediate on your standard cadence.
EPSS PROB
1%
EPSS %ILE
41%
KEV
Not listed

Published

March 18, 2026

Last Modified

June 17, 2026

Advisory Details (3)

Auto-updated Jul 27, 2026
Patch available. Sources: github_commit, github.
generic Patch Available

oss-security - CVE-2026-31972: samtools <= 1.21 Use-after-free in mpileup leading to an invalid read

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/03/18/11
github Patch Available

Use-after-free in samtools mpileup leading to an invalid read · Advisory · samtools/samtools · GitHub

Affected: versions 1.21.1 and 1.22

https://github.com/samtools/samtools/security/advisories/GHSA-72c8-4jf3-f27p
github_commit Patch Available

commit 3036eb9af945 (samtools/samtools)

Patch available: samtools/samtools 1.23 (contains commit 3036eb9af945)

https://github.com/samtools/samtools/commit/3036eb9af945fcef359427a2d359855553da4adf

Weakness Classification(1)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 5× in last 7d / 5× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.

  1. 2026-08-01 04:16 UTCEPSS rescore
  2. 2026-07-30 16:28 UTCEPSS rescore
  3. 2026-07-30 01:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-07-28 15:36 UTCEPSS rescore
  5. 2026-07-27 14:41 UTCEG score recompute

Related CVEs(same CWE)

Frequently asked(5)

What is CVE-2026-31972?
CVE-2026-31972 is a critical vulnerability published on March 18, 2026. SAMtools is a program for reading, manipulating and writing bioinformatics file formats. The mpileup command outputs DNA sequences that have been aligned against a known reference. On each output line it writes the reference position, optionally the reference DNA base at that position (obtained…
When was CVE-2026-31972 disclosed?
CVE-2026-31972 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on March 18, 2026, with the most recent update on June 17, 2026. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2026-31972 actively exploited?
CVE-2026-31972 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 1% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, which ranks it in the top 58.9% of all scored CVEs.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-31972?
CVE-2026-31972 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.8 (NVD). The EG score is currently aggregating — additional source signals are being incorporated as they become available..
How do I remediate CVE-2026-31972?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2026-31972, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

Dependency Blast Radius

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