CVE-2026-25087

Apache Arrow: Potential use-after-free when reading IPC file with pre-buffering

HIGH
7
CVSS Score
Published: February 17, 2026 at 01:18 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 10:24 AM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorArrow

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Severity
HIGH7
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.9%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

Use After Free vulnerability in Apache Arrow C++. This issue affects Apache Arrow C++ from 15.0.0 through 23.0.0. It can be triggered when reading an Arrow IPC file (but not an IPC stream) with pre-buffering enabled, if the IPC file contains data with variadic buffers (such as Binary View and String View data). Depending on the number of variadic buffers in a record batch column and on the temporal sequence of multi-threaded IO, a write to a dangling pointer could occur. The value (a `std::shared_ptr<Buffer>` object) that is written to the dangling pointer is not under direct control of the attacker. Pre-buffering is disabled by default but can be enabled using a specific C++ API call (`RecordBatchFileReader::PreBufferMetadata`). The functionality is not exposed in language bindings (Python, Ruby, C GLib), so these bindings are not vulnerable. The most likely consequence of this issue would be random crashes or memory corruption when reading specific kinds of IPC files. If the application allows ingesting IPC files from untrusted sources, this could plausibly be exploited for denial of service. Inducing more targeted kinds of misbehavior (such as confidential data extraction from the running process) depends on memory allocation and multi-threaded IO temporal patterns that are unlikely to be easily controlled by an attacker. Advice for users of Arrow C++: 1. check whether you enable pre-buffering on the IPC file reader (using `RecordBatchFileReader::PreBufferMetadata`) 2. if so, either disable pre-buffering (which may have adverse performance consequences), or switch to Arrow 23.0.1 which is not vulnerable

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

15.0.0 ≤ v ≤ 23.0.015.0.0 ≤ v < 23.0.115.0.0
Vendor states this is fixed in 23.0.1 (unaffected)

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

References (3)

PatchIssue Tracking
Source: cverecord
https://github.com/apache/arrow/pull/48925
Vendor AdvisoryMailing List
Source: cverecord
https://lists.apache.org/thread/mpm4ld1qony30tchfpjtk5b11tcyvmwh
Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
Source: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/02/17/4

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatablePartial impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

7HIGHCISA-ADP
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
HIGH
Privileges
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
LOW
Integrity
LOW
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusANALYZED
CWE
CWE-416

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