Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:H
Local-only attack via crafted filename requires low-privilege account and active user interaction; high I/A from potential %n memory writes and crash; low C from stack read disclosure only.
Primary rating from Vendor (redhat).
CVSS VectorVendor: redhat
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
A flaw was found in GNU nano's multi-buffer error message handling. When a user opens multiple files at startup and one triggers an ALERT-level error, a specially crafted filename containing printf format specifiers can be reinterpreted. This format string vulnerability may allow an attacker to achieve stack information disclosure, cause a denial of service (crash), or potentially perform arbitrary memory writes.
AnalysisAI
Format string vulnerability in GNU nano's multi-buffer error message handling allows a local low-privileged attacker to cause stack information disclosure, denial of service via crash, or potentially achieve arbitrary memory writes. The flaw (CWE-134) is triggered when a user opens multiple files at startup, one of which carries a specially crafted name containing printf format specifiers and another triggers an ALERT-level error - causing nano to misinterpret the filename as a format string. Reported by Red Hat and scoped to RHEL 6 through 10 and OpenShift Container Platform 4, no public exploit or CISA KEV listing exists at time of analysis.
Technical ContextAI
GNU nano is a widely-used terminal text editor shipped as a default component across major Linux distributions including Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The affected subsystem is nano's multi-buffer mode, which handles multiple files opened simultaneously at startup. CWE-134 (Use of Externally-Controlled Format String) arises when user-supplied data - here, a filename - is passed directly to a printf-family function as the format argument rather than a positional argument. Format specifiers such as %s, %x, or the especially dangerous %n (which writes the count of bytes written to a pointer on the stack) embedded in a crafted filename can cause arbitrary reads from or writes to stack memory when the ALERT-level error message renders the filename unsanitized. The CVSS vector AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U confirms the attack is local, low complexity once conditions are met, requires minimal privilege, and necessitates user interaction. CPE data identifies affected products as cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_6 through _10 and cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_openshift_container_platform_4, covering the nano packages distributed with those platforms.
RemediationAI
Monitor https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-6390 for the Red Hat Security Advisory (RHSA) containing the patched nano package for your RHEL version; no exact patched package version is confirmed in available data at time of analysis. Apply the RHSA update via dnf update nano (RHEL 8/9/10) or yum update nano (RHEL 6/7) once published. For OpenShift Container Platform 4, follow the associated RHSA to update node base images or operator components that include nano. As an interim compensating control, restrict scripts or automation that invoke nano with user-controlled or externally-sourced filenames - wrap nano invocations to validate filenames do not contain percent signs before passing them. Educating users not to open nano with multiple files where any filename originates from an untrusted source reduces the UI:R dependency that exploitation relies upon. There is no confirmed workaround that fully mitigates the vulnerability without patching.
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Same weakness CWE-134 – Use of Externally-Controlled Format String
View allSame technique Denial Of Service
View allVendor StatusVendor
SUSE
Severity: Moderate| Product | Status |
|---|---|
| SUSE Package Hub 15 SP7 | Fixed |
| SUSE Package Hub 15 SP7 | Affected |
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External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today
EUVD-2026-47874
GHSA-cgrj-mh7v-v4c8