# CVE-2026-31973: samtools: SAMtools is a program for reading, manipulating and writing bioinformatics file formats

CVE-2026-31973 is fixed in samtools on 1 platform by DEBIAN-CVE-2026-31973 (version 1.24-2), released March 18, 2026. It is not reported as exploited. Patch Radar priority: High.

- Web page: https://patchblox.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-31973
- Priority: High
- CVSS: 7.5 (high)
- EPSS: 0.0056
- CISA KEV: not listed
- Exploited (vendor report): no
- Publicly disclosed: no
- Published: Mar 18, 2026

## Description

SAMtools is a program for reading, manipulating and writing bioinformatics file formats. Starting in version 1.17, in the cram-size command, used to write information about how well CRAM files are compressed, a check to see if the `cram_decode_compression_header()` was missing. If the function returned an error, this could lead to a NULL pointer dereference. Exploiting this bug causes a NULL pointer dereference. Typically this will cause the program to crash. Versions 1.23.1, 1.22.2 and 1.21.1 include fixes for this issue. There is no workaround for this issue.

## Where it's fixed

| Platform | Product | Fixed in | Fix | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | samtools Debian 14 | 1.24-2 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-31973](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-31973.md) | Mar 18, 2026 |

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Data as of 2026-11-08T06:59:42Z UTC. Source: Patchblox Patch Radar (https://patchblox.com/security/patch-radar). Patchblox finds out-of-date software on Windows, macOS and Linux and updates it through release rings: https://patchblox.com/demo

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