Stack-Based Buffer Overflow in GNU libextractor

GNU libextractor, a library used for extracting metadata from various file types, contains a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability identified as CVE-2026-91752. The flaw resides within the process_star_office function, which handles StarOffice document formats. When the library parses an OLE2 stream within a crafted StarOffice document, it allocates memory on the stack based on attacker-supplied metadata headers. An attacker can craft a document requesting up to 4 MB of stack space, which exceeds typical stack limits and leads to a memory corruption event. This vulnerability primarily results in a denial-of-service, crashing any application or service that utilizes libextractor to process untrusted file uploads or metadata extraction tasks. Defenders should prioritize updating libextractor to version 1.15 or later to mitigate the risk of arbitrary code execution or service instability.

Impact

The vulnerability poses a high risk to software ecosystems that utilize libextractor for automated file analysis, archival, or indexing. If successfully triggered, the overflow causes an immediate application crash, leading to service disruption. Systems that ingest user-provided documents are at the highest risk, as the exploitation vector requires nothing more than the library processing a malicious file.

Recommendation

Update all instances of GNU libextractor to version 1.15 or later. Ensure that any software packages, dependencies, or local builds of the library are rebuilt and redeployed using the patched source code.