CVE-2026-42886 Vulnerability Analysis & Exploit Details

CVE-2026-42886
Vulnerability Scoring

4.9
/10
Medium Risk

The vulnerability CVE-2026-42886 could compromise system integrity but typically requires user interaction to be exploited.

Attack Complexity Details

  • Attack Complexity: Low
    Exploits can be performed without significant complexity or special conditions.
  • Attack Vector: Network
    Vulnerability is exploitable over a network without physical access.
  • Privileges Required: High
    High-level privileges are required for exploitation.
  • Scope: Unchanged
    Exploit remains within the originally vulnerable component.
  • User Interaction: None
    No user interaction is necessary for exploitation.

CVE-2026-42886 Details

Status: Received on 11 May 2026, 20:25 UTC

Published on: 11 May 2026, 20:25 UTC

CVSS Release: version 3

CVSS3 Source

security-advisories@github.com

CVSS3 Type

Secondary

CVSS3 Vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVE-2026-42886 Vulnerability Summary

CVE-2026-42886: Audiobookshelf is a self-hosted audiobook and podcast server. Prior to 2.32.2, the POST /api/backups/upload endpoint decompresses the details entry from an uploaded .audiobookshelf ZIP file entirely into memory using zip.entryData(), with no limit on the decompressed size. The upload middleware also has no file size limit. An admin user can upload a crafted ZIP containing a highly compressed details entry that, when decompressed, consumes hundreds of megabytes or gigabytes of memory, crashing the server process via out-of-memory. This vulnerability is fixed in 2.32.2.

Assessing the Risk of CVE-2026-42886

Access Complexity Graph

The exploitability of CVE-2026-42886 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).

Exploitability Analysis for CVE-2026-42886

The exploitability of CVE-2026-42886 is influenced by multiple factors. Security teams should analyze system configurations and apply appropriate countermeasures to mitigate threats.

Understanding AC and PR

A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.

Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.

Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.

CVSS Score Breakdown Chart

Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2026-42886, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.

CIA Impact Analysis

Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2026-42886, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.

  • Confidentiality: None
    CVE-2026-42886 has no significant impact on data confidentiality.
  • Integrity: None
    CVE-2026-42886 poses no threat to data integrity.
  • Availability: High
    CVE-2026-42886 can disrupt system operations, potentially causing complete denial of service (DoS).

CVE-2026-42886 References

External References

CWE Common Weakness Enumeration

CWE-409

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