CVE-2026-103658

GNU Aspell 0.60.8.2 (first vulnerable version is not known) contains a heap-based buffer overflow write (CWE-122) in its read-only dictionary loader. String::reserve() in common/string.hpp computes its capacity check with a signed int ((int)s + 1), so a requested size of 0x7FFFFFFF wraps negative and the backing buffer is never grown. ReadOnlyDict::load() in modules/speller/default/readonly_ws.cpp passes the unvalidated 32-bit size fields from a .rws dictionary header into this path, so a crafted .rws file with a valid endian marker (12345678) and an oversized length field (e.g. lang_name_size = 0x7FFFFFFF) causes attacker-controlled data to be written out of bounds past an undersized heap allocation. An attacker who induces a victim to load a malicious dictionary — for example via aspell dump master <file> — can corrupt heap memory, resulting in denial of service and potentially code execution. Fixed in b830b6e and will be fixed in release 0.60.8.3.

CVE-2026-103658 is fixed in 4 products on 1 platform, first by RHSA-2026:92615, released October 30, 2026. It is not reported as exploited. Patch Radar priority: High.

High
CVSS
7.8
Moderate
Exploitation
None reported
No vendor assessment
CISA KEV
Not listed
Not in the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
EPSS
0.0021
11th percentile

GNU Aspell is a spell checker designed to eventually replace Ispell. It can either be used as a library or as an independent spell checker. Security Fix(es): * aspell: aspell: Arbitrary code execution via crafted dictionary file (CVE-2026-103658) For more details about the security issue(s), including the impact, a CVSS score, acknowledgments, and other related information, refer to the CVE page(s) listed in the References section.

Where it's fixed

ProductFixed inFixReleased
Linux
aspell · Debian 14 0.60.8.2-4 DEBIAN-CVE-2026-103658 Nov 1, 2026
aspell · RHEL 8 12:0.60.6.1-23.el8_10 RHSA-2026:92615 Oct 30, 2026
aspell · RHEL 9 12:0.60.8-9.el9_8 RHSA-2026:92458 Oct 30, 2026
aspell · almalinux 8 12:0.60.6.1-23.el8_10 ALSA-2026:92615 Nov 7, 2026
aspell · almalinux 9 12:0.60.8-9.el9_8 ALSA-2026:92458 Nov 7, 2026
aspell · amzn 2023 12:0.60.8-7.amzn2023.0.3 ALAS2023-2026-3275 Nov 7, 2026
aspell · ol 8 12:0.60.6.1-23.el8_10 ELSA-2026-92615 Nov 7, 2026
aspell · ol 9 12:0.60.8-9.el9_8 ELSA-2026-92458 Nov 7, 2026
aspell · rocky 8 2:0.60.6.1-23.el8_10 RLSA-2026:92615 Nov 7, 2026
aspell · rocky 9 2:0.60.8-9.el9_8 RLSA-2026:92458 Nov 7, 2026
aspell-debuginfo · amzn 2023 12:0.60.8-7.amzn2023.0.3 ALAS2023-2026-3275 Nov 7, 2026
aspell-debugsource · amzn 2023 12:0.60.8-7.amzn2023.0.3 ALAS2023-2026-3275 Nov 7, 2026
aspell-devel · RHEL 8 12:0.60.6.1-23.el8_10 RHSA-2026:92615 Oct 30, 2026
aspell-devel · RHEL 9 12:0.60.8-9.el9_8 RHSA-2026:92458 Oct 30, 2026
aspell-devel · almalinux 8 12:0.60.6.1-23.el8_10 ALSA-2026:92615 Nov 7, 2026
aspell-devel · almalinux 9 12:0.60.8-9.el9_8 ALSA-2026:92458 Nov 7, 2026
aspell-devel · amzn 2023 12:0.60.8-7.amzn2023.0.3 ALAS2023-2026-3275 Nov 7, 2026
aspell-devel · ol 8 12:0.60.6.1-23.el8_10 ELSA-2026-92615 Nov 7, 2026
aspell-devel · ol 9 12:0.60.8-9.el9_8 ELSA-2026-92458 Nov 7, 2026

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