Executive brief
bzip2 is a widely used data compression tool and library. A vulnerability in its recovery utility could allow a specially crafted file to crash the application. This could lead to a denial of service when attempting to process or recover damaged compressed archives.
Technical details
An off-by-one error exists in the bzip2recover utility of bzip2. When the utility processes a specially crafted malicious file, it performs an out-of-bounds write to a global buffer. This memory corruption results in an application crash, causing a denial of service. The attack vector is local, requiring the utility to process a malicious file. The issue is classified as CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write) and is resolved in version 1.0.9.
Affected products
- bzip2 bzip2 All versions before 1.0.9
Timeline
- 2026-05-28: disclosed
- 2026-05-28: advisory