---
id: CVE-2026-96442
title: 'A code execution flaw was found in Emacs, affecting versions prior to 31.2'
summary: >-
  A code execution flaw was found in Emacs, affecting versions prior to 31.2.
  The Flymake mode using language backends other than Lisp would execute
  arbitrary code from the edited file while performing syntax checking. Viewing
  or editing u…
severity: high
cvss: 7.8
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'
cwe:
  - CWE-94
vendor: GNU Emacs
product: emacs
affected:
  - emacs < 31.2
  - emacs (all versions)
  - emacs
  - emacs (all versions)
  - emacs (all versions)
  - emacs (all versions)
published: '2026-09-23'
updated: '2026-09-24'
sourceUpdated: '2026-09-24T20:17:34.753'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-96442'
references:
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-96442'
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2537347'
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/emacs-mirror/emacs/commit/135e6f63f08fee3d374fa1a5187bce941a2d3e3c
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/emacs-mirror/emacs/commit/abc802ee2eb0b1663349ddf22a461f8e54a383fb
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: 'https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/09/14/1'
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-96442.json
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-96442'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-96442'
tags:
  - nvd
  - cve.org
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
ssvc:
  exploitation: none
  automatable: 'no'
  technicalImpact: total
  timestamp: '2026-09-23T13:54:08.909184Z'
epss: 0.00166
epssPercentile: 0.0515
ingestedAt: '2026-09-23T10:21:54.381Z'
---

## Overview

A code execution flaw was found in Emacs, affecting versions prior to 31.2. The Flymake mode using language backends other than Lisp would execute arbitrary code from the edited file while performing syntax checking. Viewing or editing untrusted files using Emacs could lead to arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the user running Emacs.

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Important · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, … · updated 2026-09-24 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-96442.json)