Heap Overflow in libmspack Due to Uninitialized Pointer Free

Executive Summary

CVE-2026-110602 is an uninitialized pointer free vulnerability in libmspack through version 0.11alpha. It occurs in the kwajd_open() function in mspack/kwajd.c where uninitialized filename and extra pointers are freed during header read errors. Attackers can exploit this by providing a truncated, empty, or incorrectly signed KWAJ file to crash the process or achieve arbitrary free memory corruption.

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Detection Guidance

To detect this vulnerability, monitor for crashes in applications using libmspack when processing KWAJ files. Use tools like AddressSanitizer to identify uninitialized pointer frees. Check for segmentation faults or memory corruption when handling malformed KWAJ files.

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Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can cause program crashes or memory corruption when processing malformed KWAJ files. It may lead to denial of service or serve as an exploitation primitive for arbitrary code execution if combined with other vulnerabilities. Systems using libmspack to handle untrusted KWAJ files are at risk.

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Compliance Impact

This vulnerability could impact compliance with GDPR and HIPAA by enabling denial-of-service attacks or memory corruption, potentially disrupting data processing or storage systems that handle sensitive personal or health information. Unauthorized memory manipulation may lead to data leaks or system instability, violating integrity and availability requirements under these regulations.

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Mitigation Strategies

Immediately update libmspack to the latest patched version. If updating is not possible, restrict access to applications processing KWAJ files. Validate all KWAJ files before processing to ensure they are not truncated or empty. Monitor for crashes or memory corruption events.

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