# CVE-2026-1260: Google Sentencepiece heap overflow via malicious model file

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-1260-google-sentencepiece-heap-overflow-via-malicious-model-file  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-01-22. Updated: 2026-06-30  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-1260 · Severity: high · CVSS 7.8 · Published 2026-01-22

Sentencepiece, a widely used text processing library for machine learning models, contains a security vulnerability that can be triggered by loading a specially crafted, malicious model file. If an application or user processes such a file, it could lead to a complete system compromise, unauthorized data access, or service crashes. This issue primarily affects environments where users might download and use untrusted machine learning models from external sources.

Technologies: [Red Hat AI Inference Server](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/ai-inference-server). Vendors: [Google](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/google), [PyPI](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/pypi), [Red Hat](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/red-hat).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-1260 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-1260 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-1260?** High severity, with a CVSS score of 7.8, published 22 January 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Google Sentencepiece < 0.2.1; sentencepiece (PyPI) ECOSYSTEM:introduced=0,fixed=0.2.1; Red Hat AI Inference Server 3.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-1260?** Yes. sentencepiece (PyPI): upgrade to 0.2.1 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2026-1260 attacked?** It is attacked with local access, in a software library.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-1260?** Check whether you run Google Sentencepiece, sentencepiece (PyPI) or Red Hat AI Inference Server at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## How to fix

- sentencepiece (PyPI): upgrade to 0.2.1 or later

  ```sh
  pip install "sentencepiece>=0.2.1"
  ```


## Technical details

A heap buffer overflow vulnerability exists in Google Sentencepiece before version 0.2.1. The flaw is triggered during the loading of a vulnerable model file that contains an invalid precompiled normalization model, which is not typically generated during standard training procedures. An attacker can exploit this by providing a malicious model file to an application using the library. Successful exploitation requires the victim to load the crafted file (User Interaction) and can result in arbitrary code execution or a denial-of-service (DoS) condition. The issue has been addressed in Sentencepiece version 0.2.1, and Red Hat has released updated images for OpenShift AI to mitigate the risk.

## Affected products

- Google Sentencepiece < 0.2.1
- Red Hat Red Hat OpenShift AI 2.25, 3.3
- Red Hat Red Hat AI Inference Server 3

## Identifiers

- CVE-2026-1260
- GHSA-38vq-g6vr-w8wf
- PYSEC-2026-1909

## Timeline

- 2026-01-22: disclosed
- 2026-01-22: advisory
- 2026-03-04: patched: Red Hat released security advisories RHSA-2026:3713 and RHSA-2026:3782

## References

- [https://github.com/google/sentencepiece/releases/tag/v0.2.1](https://github.com/google/sentencepiece/releases/tag/v0.2.1)
- [https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:3713](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:3713)
- [https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:3782](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:3782)
- [https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-1260](https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-1260)
- [https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2432079](https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2432079)
- [https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-1260.json](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-1260.json)

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