CVE-2026-16554

NameCVE-2026-16554
DescriptioncJSON library is vulnerable to an integer overflow in the print_string_ptr() function in cJSON.c on 32-bit platforms. The escape_characters counter, a 32-bit size_t, can wrap around when processing strings containing approximately 858,993,460 or more control characters, causing the output buffer to be allocated based on an underestimated length. When cJSON_PrintBuffered() is used with a pre-allocated buffer, the subsequent write loop overflows the heap allocation. An attacker supplying a crafted JSON string to an application using cJSON on a 32-bit platform can cause a heap buffer overflow, potentially leading to remote code execution, information disclosure, or denial of service. Because project creator contact attempts were unsuccessful, the vulnerability has only been confirmed in version 1.7.19 but may also affect other versions.
SourceCVE (at NVD; CERT, ENISA, LWN, oss-sec, fulldisc, Debian ELTS, Red Hat, Ubuntu, Gentoo, SUSE bugzilla/CVE, GitHub advisories/code/issues, web search, more)

Vulnerable and fixed packages

The table below lists information on source packages.

Source PackageReleaseVersionStatus
cjson (PTS)bullseye1.7.14-1+deb11u1vulnerable
bullseye (security)1.7.14-1+deb11u3vulnerable
bookworm, bookworm (security)1.7.15-1+deb12u4vulnerable
trixie (security), trixie1.7.18-3.1+deb13u1vulnerable
forky, sid1.7.19-2vulnerable

The information below is based on the following data on fixed versions.

PackageTypeReleaseFixed VersionUrgencyOriginDebian Bugs
cjsonsource(unstable)(unfixed)

Notes

ttps://cert.pl/en/posts/2026/07/CVE-2026-16554

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