CVE Intelligence
Medium

CVE-2026-71394 — Heap Use of Uninitialized Memory in GNU Emacs for Android

GNU Emacs for Android improperly validates the table header input in sfnt_read_table_directory() in src/sfnt.c. Due to an incorrect comparison variable in the read-length check, a crafted font file that claims to contain more table directory entries than actually present causes the parser to return a struct with uninitialized heap memory in the table directory entries. An attacker can deliver a malicious font file via email, EWW (Emacs Web Wowser), or documents with custom faces, causing Emacs to load it. This leads to the use of uninitialized heap data in subsequent table lookups, potentially resulting in information disclosure, crashes, or arbitrary memory access on 32-bit targets. This issue is fixed after commit 7621ee1d01229d50e5c0cddea6bf0b01095a62cf

Published Aug 10, 2026 · Updated Oct 15, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: CERT-PL

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.
How the score was calculated
  • EPSS 0.4% (30-day exploitation probability)+6
  • Technical severity (medium)+3

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Not confirmed
Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.
EPSS FIRST
0.45%
ahead of 37% of scored CVEs · Oct 16, 2026
Affects
Gnu
Emacs
CVSS base
5.3
Medium · 2 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation
None
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
No
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Partial
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Gnu Emacs).
  2. The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
  3. No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
  4. Exploitation requires user interaction: tighten email/web filtering and warn affected users.
  5. Search available logs for exploit probes, errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Gnu Emacs ≤ 30.2 Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Attack requirements
None
Privileges required
None
User interaction
Passive
Scope
X
Confidentiality (vulnerable system)
None
Integrity (vulnerable system)
None
Availability (vulnerable system)
Low
Confidentiality (subsequent)
Low
Integrity (subsequent)
Low
Availability (subsequent)
None

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
5.3 CVSS 4.0 Medium — — cvd@cert.pl via NIST National Vulnerability Database
5.3 CVSS 4.0 Medium — — CERT-PL via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:L/SI:L/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 (score shown at the top: cvd@cert.pl)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-1284

Other CVEs with this weakness →

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 15, 2026 → Oct 16, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 0.45%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPS

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Affected products added · gnu/emacs
    Oct 15, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • SSVC assessment updated
    Oct 15, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 15, 2026
  • CVSS changed · 5.3
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Deferred
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVE published
    Aug 10, 2026 · CERT-PL

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 15, 2026 – Oct 15, 2026

References

2 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Gnu
every CVE for this vendor
CWE-1284
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-108976 GNU Emacs before 31.2 (and TRAMP through 2.8.2) allows OS command injection via a filename... 5d
  • CVE-2026-96269 GNU Emacs 28.1 through 31.1 allows arbitrary code execution upon opening a file, because… 24d
  • CVE-2026-77219 GNU Emacs < 31.0.91 Heap Over-Read via PBM/PPM/PGM Image Loader Aug 21, 2026
  • CVE-2026-71391 Off-by-One Error in GNU Emacs for Android Aug 10, 2026
  • CVE-2026-71392 Integer Overflow in GNU Emacs for Android Aug 10, 2026
  • CVE-2026-71393 Heap Buffer Overflow in GNU Emacs for Android Aug 10, 2026

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2026-71394 is "Heap Use of Uninitialized Memory in GNU Emacs for Android", rated Medium. It affects Emacs (Gnu); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 5.3 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.45% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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