CVE-2026-126050: apitrace heap overflow in trace reader

Summary

The apitrace tracing tools, versions 2.0 through 14.0, contain a heap buffer overflow in their trace-file reader that can corrupt memory. An attacker who can get a user to open a crafted .trace file locally, without needing to log in, can cause that memory corruption when the user dumps, inspects, or replays the file.

Written by anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5 from the sources below. Verify against them.

Read the original description

apitrace 2.0 through 14.0 contains a heap-based buffer overflow in SnappyFile::flushReadCache() that allows attackers to write past m_compressedCache via an oversized compressed chunk length. Attackers can supply a crafted .trace file whose 4-byte chunk length exceeds the fixed buffer size, corrupting heap memory when users dump, inspect, or replay it.

cve.now Index

15Pcve.now Index 15 of 100 · methodology v3 · provisional

Exploitation0/40No signal
Exposure5/25Specific setups only
Reach?/20Unknown. No tracked technology or package matched
Severity9.5/10CVSS 8.5, total technical impact per CISA
No patch0/5No signal

What would change the score

Would score about 65 if added to CISA KEV
Would score about 60 if CISA's SSVC rates exploitation active
Would score about 25 if CISA's SSVC rates it automatable

How the score works · Rankings

What to do

Check whether your setup matches what the bug needs.
Affects apitrace versions 2.0 through 14.0 User dumps, inspects, or replays a crafted .trace file read by the Snappy reader
Apply the patch listed under Evidence.

Check your systems with an agent

Paste this into a coding or ops agent. It checks your systems read-only and reports a table per asset.

Check whether my systems are affected by CVE-2026-126050 (apitrace 2.0 through 14.0 Heap Buffer Overflow via SnappyFile::flushReadCache()), using the cve.now data below.

Rules: work read-only. Do not run exploit code, proof-of-concept scripts or scanners that send attack payloads, and do not change any configuration, package, image or deployment. Report findings only.

What cve.now has for CVE-2026-126050 (entry last updated 2026-11-10):
Affected:
- apitrace apitrace: from 2.0, through 14.0
Fixed versions: none listed yet.
Conditions (all must be true for the bug to be hit):
- Affects apitrace versions 2.0 through 14.0 (source: https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/apitrace-2.0-through-14.0-heap-buffer-overflow-via-snappyfile-flushreadcache)
- User dumps, inspects, or replays a crafted .trace file read by the Snappy reader (source: https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/apitrace-2.0-through-14.0-heap-buffer-overflow-via-snappyfile-flushreadcache)
Setup: unknown whether the bug needs a non-default feature or setting. Check the advisory.
Attacker needs: local access, no login, a user action.
CISA KEV: CVE-2026-126050 is not listed as of cve.now's last read.
This KEV status is for CVE-2026-126050 only. If you also check another CVE, look up its own KEV status; never assume it from this one.

How to check:
- Installed software: check what is actually running, not what a repo declares. Read the version from each host, container image and Kubernetes node (the binary's version output, the OS package database, image layers), and check whether the conditions above hold there. Distribution packages may carry a backported fix under an older version number; confirm against the distribution's own advisory.

Verify against the linked advisories before concluding, and cite the date you read each one:
- https://github.com/apitrace/apitrace/commit/3890c5a448addfd75ccbe1bd09e3075de6fb3395
- https://github.com/apitrace/apitrace/blob/18cfd388ac47a9e00978b34d6c20341f3e2cdb56/lib/trace/trace_file_snappy.cpp#L215-L235
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/apitrace-2.0-through-14.0-heap-buffer-overflow-via-snappyfile-flushreadcache
Do not conclude an asset is unaffected unless you checked it and the evidence covers both its version and the conditions above. If you could not check something, mark it unknown and say what is missing.

Entry: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-126050
For follow-up questions, use the cve.now MCP server at https://mcp.cve.now/mcp (no authentication), for example get_vulnerability with id CVE-2026-126050.

Timeline

Nov 10, 2026, 4:58 PM UTCCVE published
Nov 10, 2026, 5:06 PM UTCFirst seen by cve.now
Nov 10, 2026, 7:02 PM UTCCISA SSVC assessment
Exploitation: none · Automatable: no · Technical impact: total
Nov 10, 2026, 7:04 PM UTCRecord last updated

Affected versions

apitrace apitrace
From 2.0 · through 14.0

Evidence 5

CVE record · 2

Establishes: The identifier and description.

Record
CVE List · CVE-2026-126050
Record
NVD · CVE-2026-126050

Corrections

None so far.

Something wrong on this page? Report an error. Every fix is listed here.

Questions about CVE-2026-126050

Is CVE-2026-126050 being exploited?

It is not in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, and CISA's SSVC assessment does not mark exploitation as active. That does not mean it has not been attacked: vendors and researchers can report attacks before CISA lists them. No public exploit code is tracked.Source: cve.now feed data

What does this mean?

The bug is a heap buffer overflow in apitrace's Snappy trace reader. An oversized compressed chunk length lets data be written past the end of an internal cache, corrupting heap memory.Source: vulncheck.com

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-126050?

apitrace: from 2.0 through 14.0.Source: cve.now feed data

Am I affected, and how do I check?

Affects apitrace versions 2.0 through 14.0. The risk applies when a user dumps, inspects, or replays a crafted .trace file read by the Snappy reader. Check your version with the apitrace version command or your package manager.Source: vulncheck.com

How do I fix CVE-2026-126050?

No fixed version is listed in the facts provided, so no upgrade target can be named from them. Avoid opening untrusted .trace files with apitrace until a fix is confirmed.Source: vulncheck.com

apitrace 2.0 through 14.0 Heap Buffer Overflow via SnappyFile::flushReadCache()