CVE-2025-15281: gnu glibc Use of Uninitialized Resource
CVSS: 7.5v3.1HighAnalyzed
AliasesRHSA-2026:18139UBUNTU-CVE-2025-15281DEBIAN-CVE-2025-15281CGA-57jc-36hq-46xfCGA-g8jh-2h2x-q44c
Published 20-01-2026Last modified 22-01-2026
Vulnerability summary
CVE-2025-15281 is a high (CVSS 7.5) Use of Uninitialized Resource vulnerability in gnu glibc. EPSS estimates a 0.49% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 40.8% of scored vulnerabilities.
CVSS score
7.5/10
010
High · v3.1 (CVE.org)EPSS score
0.49%
0%100%
Low · -0.01 pp in 30 daysKEVNot listedIn no KEV catalog
RansomwareNone recordedNo known use recorded
Public exploits0No public exploits recorded
Advisory lineage
Upstream 0 · Downstream 14 · Related 12Timeline
- 20-01-2026PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
- 22-01-2026Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.
Description
Calling wordexp with WRDE_REUSE in conjunction with WRDE_APPEND in the GNU C Library version 2.0 to version 2.42 may cause the interface to return uninitialized memory in the we_wordv member, which on subsequent calls to wordfree may abort the process.
CVSS metrics
7 scores · 7 sources · 1 versionHigh 7.5Preferred score · CVE.org (CNA)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HSources7 sources · 5.9–7.5
- OSV · Red hatEcosystem advisory · calculated5.9MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HDiffers
- OSV · UbuntuEcosystem advisory · calculated7.5HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- OSV · DebianEcosystem advisory · calculated7.5HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- OSV · WolfiEcosystem advisory · calculated7.5HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- OSV · ChainguardEcosystem advisory · calculated7.5HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- NVDNIST7.5HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS trend
Probability
0.49%
Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days
Percentile
41%
Versus all other CVEs
30-day change
-0.01 pp
From 0.50% on 18-09-2026
18-09-202618-10-2026
EPSS score0.49%
Known exploited
Compare KEV catalogsNot in any of the 3 tracked catalogs.
Public exploits
0 foundNo public exploits indexed.
Weaknesses
CWE · root causeAffected systems
Redhat194 products
- glibc< 0:2.39-113.el10
- glibc-all-langpacks< 0:2.39-113.el10
- glibc-benchtests< 0:2.39-113.el10
- glibc-benchtests-debuginfo< 0:2.39-113.el10
- glibc-common< 0:2.39-113.el10
Ubuntu2 products
- eglibcAll versions (No fix recorded)
- glibc< 2.23-0ubuntu11.3+esm9 | < 2.27-3ubuntu1.6+esm6 | < 2.31-0ubuntu9.18+esm1 | < 2.35-0ubuntu3.13 | < 2.39-0ubuntu8.7 | < 2.42-0ubuntu3.1 | < 2.42-2ubuntu5
Chainguard1 product
- glibc< 2.42-r7
Debian1 product
- glibc< 2.36-9+deb12u14 | < 2.41-12+deb13u2 | < 2.42-11
Gnu1 product
- glibc≥ 2.0, < 2.43
Wolfi1 product
- glibc< 2.42-r7
6 vendors · 200 products · Showing 200 of 238. Use Open JSON for the complete list.
