CVE-2026-39956 MEDIUM

CVE-2026-39956: jq: Missing runtime type checks for _strindices lead to crash and limited memory disclosure

Vendor Jqlang
Product jq
Weakness CWE-125
Published April 13, 2026
Last update April 14, 2026

CVSS base score

6.1/10
Attack vector Local
Attack complexity Low
Privileges required None
User interaction Required
Confidentiality Low
Integrity None

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H

What the vulnerability does

01Description

jq is a command-line JSON processor. In commits after 69785bf77f86e2ea1b4a20ca86775916889e91c9, the _strindices builtin in jq's src/builtin.c passes its arguments directly to jv_string_indexes() without verifying they are strings, and jv_string_indexes() in src/jv.c relies solely on assert() checks that are stripped in release builds compiled with -DNDEBUG. This allows an attacker to crash jq trivially with input like _strindices(0), and by crafting a numeric value whose IEEE-754 bit pattern maps to a chosen pointer, achieve a controlled pointer dereference and limited memory read/probe primitive. Any deployment that evaluates untrusted jq filters against a release build is vulnerable. This issue has been patched in commit fdf8ef0f0810e3d365cdd5160de43db46f57ed03.

Key dates

02Disclosure timeline

April 13, 2026 CVE published
April 14, 2026 Record updated