nano Format String Vulnerability: Statusline DoS
CVE-2026-6843 Published on April 22, 2026
Nano: nano: format string vulnerability leads to denial of service
A flaw was found in nano. A local user could exploit a format string vulnerability in the `statusline()` function. By creating a directory with a name containing `printf` specifiers, the application attempts to display this name, leading to a segmentation fault (SEGV). This results in a Denial of Service (DoS) for the `nano` application.
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2026-6843 can be exploited with local system access, requires user interaction. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to have no impact on confidentiality and integrity, and a high impact on availability.
Timeline
Reported to Red Hat.
Made public.
Weakness Type
Use of Externally-Controlled Format String
The software uses a function that accepts a format string as an argument, but the format string originates from an external source.
Products Associated with CVE-2026-6843
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