CVE-2026-88053 — Tesseract: Heap out-of-bounds write in Classify::ReadIntTemplates via unvalidated counts in crafted .traineddata
Tesseract is an open source OCR engine. In version 5.5.3 and earlier, Classify::ReadIntTemplates in src/classify/intproto.cpp reads NumClassPruners, NumClasses, and NumProtoSets from the TESSDATA_INTTEMP component of a crafted .traineddata file and uses those values as loop bounds without validating them against MAX_NUM_CLASS_PRUNERS, MAX_NUM_CLASSES, and MAX_NUM_PROTO_SETS. The loops store heap pointers into fixed-capacity ClassPruners and ProtoSets arrays in INT_TEMPLATES_STRUCT and INT_CLASS_STRUCT, so an oversized count causes heap out-of-bounds pointer writes during legacy-classifier initialization before OCR begins, resulting in heap corruption, a crash, or potentially controlled corruption. No fixed release is available as of this review.
Who exploits it and how urgent it is
A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.
How the score was calculated
- Technical severity (high)+6
- CISA SSVC: exploitation "poc"+5
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.
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.
Remediation
Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.
- Documented patch — github.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
- Documented mitigation — github.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
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.
- Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Tesseract-ocr Tesseract, Tesseract-ocr Tesseract Ocr).
- Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
- Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (memory corruption), errors and authentication anomalies.
Affected scope
Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tesseract-ocr | Tesseract | version <= 5.5.3 | Vulnerable | CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
| Tesseract-ocr | Tesseract Ocr | ≤ 5.5.3 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
Attack characteristics
The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.
Every base score collected
Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.
| Score | Version | Severity | Expl. | Impact | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.6 | CVSS 4.0 | High | — | — | security-advisories@github.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 8.6 | CVSS 4.0 | High | — | — | GitHub_M via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
| 7.8 | CVSS 3.1 | High | 1.8 | 5.9 | nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov) Weakness MITRE
Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.
Detection
Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.
- Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
- Correlate service crashes/restarts with inbound traffic; repeated crashes may indicate attempts.
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first.
- 2026
- Affected products added · tesseract-ocr/tesseract
- SSVC assessment updated
- Record published
- Fix documented
- CVSS changed · 7.8
- Source status changed · → Analyzed
- Record created in this database
- CVE published
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
Related CVEs (same products)
- High CVE-2026-88051 Tesseract: Heap out-of-bounds write in GenericVector<T>::read due to independent reserved/size_used_ fields Sep 10, 2026
- High CVE-2026-88052 Tesseract is an open source OCR engine. In version 5.5.3 and earlier… Sep 10, 2026
- Medium CVE-2026-88054 Tesseract: Denial of service via empty-stack dereference in Plumbing/Series at model load Sep 10, 2026
- Medium CVE-2026-88049 Tesseract: Heap out-of-bounds write in LSTM::Forward via na_/gate-matrix dimension mismatch Sep 10, 2026
- Medium CVE-2026-88050 Tesseract: Out-of-bounds write in UnicharCompress via unvalidated recoder code values Sep 10, 2026
- High CVE-2026-88047 Tesseract: ReadNormProtos stack buffer overflow Sep 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 FIRST EPSS score.
- 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-2026-88053 is "Tesseract: Heap out-of-bounds write in Classify::ReadIntTemplates via unvalidated counts in crafted .traineddata", rated High. It affects Tesseract (Tesseract-ocr); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 7.8 describes technical severity. 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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