🟠 High | Source: Microsoft Security Response Center
CVE-2026-56288 is a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in GNU patch, a widely used utility for applying code changes to files. Microsoft has published an advisory indicating this affects Azure environments, likely through Linux-based compute resources or container images that ship GNU patch. NULL pointer dereference flaws can cause application crashes or, in certain conditions, be exploited to execute arbitrary code.
Security Architect’s Take: Audit Azure Linux VMs, container base images, and Azure Kubernetes Service node pools for versions of GNU patch that are unpatched against CVE-2026-56288, and prioritise updating affected OS packages via your standard patching pipeline or golden image rebuild process.
Original advisory: CVE-2026-56288 NULL Pointer Dereference in GNU patch