Vulnerability-Lookup

GHSA-JF22-92MG-7XXH

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-07-21 03:32 – Updated: 2026-07-21 03:32

Details

The SyncTeX parser (synctex_parser.c) shipped with TeX Live and embedded by downstream consumers such as GNOME Evince contains a heap use-after-free vulnerability that allows attackers to crash applications or potentially execute arbitrary code by supplying a malformed .synctex or .synctex.gz file. A malformed SyncTeX file can construct a ref node with a NULL parent pointer, causing the replacement routine to fail to detach the node from its sibling chain, which triggers recursive freeing of live tree nodes and leaves dangling pointers that are later accessed by the parser during document load.

Severity

6.6 (Medium)


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

6.8 (Medium)


                  
                    CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:L/VI:L/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Show details on source website

JSON

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{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2026-63729"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-416"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2026-07-21T03:16:42Z",
    "severity": "MODERATE"
  },
  "details": "The SyncTeX parser (synctex_parser.c) shipped with TeX Live and embedded by downstream consumers such as GNOME Evince contains a heap use-after-free vulnerability that allows attackers to crash applications or potentially execute arbitrary code by supplying a malformed .synctex or .synctex.gz file. A malformed SyncTeX file can construct a ref node with a NULL parent pointer, causing the replacement routine to fail to detach the node from its sibling chain, which triggers recursive freeing of live tree nodes and leaves dangling pointers that are later accessed by the parser during document load.",
  "id": "GHSA-jf22-92mg-7xxh",
  "modified": "2026-07-21T03:32:09Z",
  "published": "2026-07-21T03:32:09Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-63729"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/TeX-Live/texlive-source/commit/002dcd3eac30db5c352f53d4181737961cc7ee9a"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://fatihhcelik.github.io/posts/evince-synctex-heap-use-after-free"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/TeX-Live/texlive-source"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/tex-live-synctex-parser-heap-use-after-free-via-malformed-synctex-file"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    },
    {
      "score": "CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:L/VI:L/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X",
      "type": "CVSS_V4"
    }
  ]
}

CVE-2026-63729 (GCVE-0-2026-63729)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-07-21 01:35 – Updated: 2026-07-21 13:19

Title

TeX Live SyncTeX Parser Heap Use-After-Free via Malformed SyncTeX File

Summary

Severity

6.8 (Medium)


                        
                          CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:L/VI:L/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

6.6 (Medium)


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

SSVC

Exploitation: none Automatable: no Technical Impact: partial

CISA Coordinator (v2.0.3)

CWE

CWE-416 - Use After Free

Assigner

VulnCheck

References

4 references

URL	Tags
https://github.com/TeX-Live/texlive-source/	product
https://github.com/TeX-Live/texlive-source/commit…	patch
https://fatihhcelik.github.io/posts/evince-syncte…
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/tex-live-syn…	third-party-advisory

Impacted products

1 product

Vendor	Product	Version
TeX Live	TeX Live	Affected: 0 , ≤ TeX Live 2025 (custom) Unaffected: TeX Live 2026 (custom)

Date Public

2026-07-20 00:00

Credits

Fatih Çelik

Show details on NVD website

JSON

To clipboard

{
  "containers": {
    "adp": [
      {
        "metrics": [
          {
            "other": {
              "content": {
                "id": "CVE-2026-63729",
                "options": [
                  {
                    "Exploitation": "none"
                  },
                  {
                    "Automatable": "no"
                  },
                  {
                    "Technical Impact": "partial"
                  }
                ],
                "role": "CISA Coordinator",
                "timestamp": "2026-07-21T13:18:36.502339Z",
                "version": "2.0.3"
              },
              "type": "ssvc"
            }
          }
        ],
        "providerMetadata": {
          "dateUpdated": "2026-07-21T13:19:27.001Z",
          "orgId": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0",
          "shortName": "CISA-ADP"
        },
        "title": "CISA ADP Vulnrichment"
      }
    ],
    "cna": {
      "affected": [
        {
          "defaultStatus": "affected",
          "product": "TeX Live",
          "vendor": "TeX Live",
          "versions": [
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "TeX Live 2025",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "0",
              "versionType": "custom"
            },
            {
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "TeX Live 2026",
              "versionType": "custom"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "credits": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "type": "reporter",
          "value": "Fatih \u00c7elik"
        }
      ],
      "datePublic": "2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z",
      "descriptions": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "The SyncTeX parser (synctex_parser.c) shipped with TeX Live and embedded by downstream consumers such as GNOME Evince contains a heap use-after-free vulnerability that allows attackers to crash applications or potentially execute arbitrary code by supplying a malformed .synctex or .synctex.gz file. A malformed SyncTeX file can construct a ref node with a NULL parent pointer, causing the replacement routine to fail to detach the node from its sibling chain, which triggers recursive freeing of live tree nodes and leaves dangling pointers that are later accessed by the parser during document load."
        }
      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "cvssV4_0": {
            "Automatable": "NOT_DEFINED",
            "Recovery": "NOT_DEFINED",
            "Safety": "NOT_DEFINED",
            "attackComplexity": "LOW",
            "attackRequirements": "NONE",
            "attackVector": "LOCAL",
            "baseScore": 6.8,
            "baseSeverity": "MEDIUM",
            "exploitMaturity": "NOT_DEFINED",
            "privilegesRequired": "NONE",
            "providerUrgency": "NOT_DEFINED",
            "subAvailabilityImpact": "NONE",
            "subConfidentialityImpact": "NONE",
            "subIntegrityImpact": "NONE",
            "userInteraction": "ACTIVE",
            "valueDensity": "NOT_DEFINED",
            "vectorString": "CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:L/VI:L/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N",
            "version": "4.0",
            "vulnAvailabilityImpact": "HIGH",
            "vulnConfidentialityImpact": "LOW",
            "vulnIntegrityImpact": "LOW",
            "vulnerabilityResponseEffort": "NOT_DEFINED"
          },
          "format": "CVSS",
          "scenarios": [
            {
              "lang": "en",
              "value": "GENERAL"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "cvssV3_1": {
            "attackComplexity": "LOW",
            "attackVector": "LOCAL",
            "availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
            "baseScore": 6.6,
            "baseSeverity": "MEDIUM",
            "confidentialityImpact": "LOW",
            "integrityImpact": "LOW",
            "privilegesRequired": "NONE",
            "scope": "UNCHANGED",
            "userInteraction": "REQUIRED",
            "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H",
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          "format": "CVSS",
          "scenarios": [
            {
              "lang": "en",
              "value": "GENERAL"
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      ],
      "problemTypes": [
        {
          "descriptions": [
            {
              "cweId": "CWE-416",
              "description": "Use After Free",
              "lang": "en",
              "type": "CWE"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "providerMetadata": {
        "dateUpdated": "2026-07-21T01:35:41.899Z",
        "orgId": "83251b91-4cc7-4094-a5c7-464a1b83ea10",
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      },
      "references": [
        {
          "name": "Product",
          "tags": [
            "product"
          ],
          "url": "https://github.com/TeX-Live/texlive-source/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Patch Commit",
          "tags": [
            "patch"
          ],
          "url": "https://github.com/TeX-Live/texlive-source/commit/002dcd3eac30db5c352f53d4181737961cc7ee9a"
        },
        {
          "name": "Blog Post",
          "url": "https://fatihhcelik.github.io/posts/evince-synctex-heap-use-after-free/"
        },
        {
          "tags": [
            "third-party-advisory"
          ],
          "url": "https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/tex-live-synctex-parser-heap-use-after-free-via-malformed-synctex-file"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "discovery": "UNKNOWN"
      },
      "title": "TeX Live SyncTeX Parser Heap Use-After-Free via Malformed SyncTeX File",
      "x_generator": {
        "engine": "vulncheck"
      }
    }
  },
  "cveMetadata": {
    "assignerOrgId": "83251b91-4cc7-4094-a5c7-464a1b83ea10",
    "assignerShortName": "VulnCheck",
    "cveId": "CVE-2026-63729",
    "datePublished": "2026-07-21T01:35:41.899Z",
    "dateReserved": "2026-07-17T21:21:58.625Z",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-07-21T13:19:27.001Z",
    "state": "PUBLISHED"
  },
  "dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
  "dataVersion": "5.2"
}

Sightings

Author	Source	Type	Date	Other

Nomenclature

Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.

Detection rules are retrieved from Rulezet.

The MITRE ATT&CK techniques below are AI-generated suggestions, inferred from the description of the vulnerability by the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-classification-roberta-base model, served locally by ML-Gateway. They have not been verified by an analyst and are provided for guidance only.

Action not permitted

GHSA-JF22-92MG-7XXH

CVE-2026-63729 (GCVE-0-2026-63729)

Tags

Sightings

Nomenclature