CVE-2026-39956 PUBLISHED

jq: Missing runtime type checks for _strindices lead to crash and limited memory disclosure

Assigner: GitHub_M
Reserved: 07.04.2026 Published: 13.04.2026 Updated: 13.04.2026

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.

Metrics

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H
CVSS Score: 6.1

Product Status

Vendor jqlang
Product jq
Versions
  • Version >= 69785bf77f86e2ea1b4a20ca86775916889e91c9, < fdf8ef0f0810e3d365cdd5160de43db46f57ed03 is affected

References

Problem Types

  • CWE-125: Out-of-bounds Read CWE
  • CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference CWE
  • CWE-843: Access of Resource Using Incompatible Type ('Type Confusion') CWE