CVE-2026-102473
Received Received - Intake

Dash Path Traversal via Recursive Pattern Matching

Publication date: 2026-09-29

Last updated on: 2026-09-29

Assigner: redhat-SADP

Description
A flaw was found in dash. When built without libc fnmatch, the internal pmatch() matcher implements * by unbounded recursion over candidate positions. A local user who can plant filenames, or otherwise feed that matcher, can make a short multi-star pattern such as *.*.*.*.*.tar.gz consume excessive CPU.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-09-29
Last Modified
2026-09-29
Generated
2026-09-29
AI Q&A
2026-09-29
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-102473
EUVD
EUVD-2026-88667

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
debian dash *

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-1333 The product uses a regular expression with an inefficient, possibly exponential worst-case computational complexity that consumes excessive CPU cycles.

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Executive Summary

This vulnerability is in the dash shell where the internal pmatch() function uses unbounded recursion to match filenames with multi-star patterns like *.*.*.*.*.tar.gz when built without libc fnmatch. This causes excessive CPU consumption leading to a denial of service (DoS).

Detection Guidance

Check if dash is built without libc fnmatch by running 'dash --version' and inspecting build flags. Test for excessive CPU usage by creating test filenames with multi-star patterns like '*.*.*.*.*.tar.gz' and running dash glob matching operations.

Impact Analysis

An attacker with local access could craft filenames or wildcard expressions to trigger excessive CPU usage, causing system slowdowns or crashes. It requires local access and does not compromise confidentiality or integrity.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability primarily causes denial of service through excessive CPU consumption, which does not directly impact data confidentiality or integrity. Standards like GDPR and HIPAA focus on protecting personal and health data, so this issue does not directly violate those requirements. However, if the DoS disrupts systems handling regulated data, it could indirectly affect compliance by impairing access to critical services.

Mitigation Strategies

Rebuild dash with --enable-fnmatch to use libc fnmatch. Avoid using dash globs, case, or variable expansions with multi-star patterns against untrusted inputs. Update dash to a patched version if available.

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