⚠ Reference material — not professional advice. Test in staging, back up first, verify against your specific version. Use your own judgment for your environment.
● Medium · CVSS 6.8

How to Fix CVE-2026-29022: Heap buffer overflow in dr_libs dr_wav.h

By Sai Kiran Pandrala. Last verified: 2026-05-25.

CVE-2026-29022 is a heap buffer overflow in mackron dr_libs dr_wav.h. The fix is to upgrade to dr_libs dr_wav.h 8a7258cc66b49387ad58cc5b81568982a3560d49.

⚡ At a glance
Severity6.8 (Medium)
Actively exploited?No public listing in CISA KEV
Affecteddr_libs dr_wav.h 0 to <=0.14.4
Fixed indr_libs dr_wav.h 8a7258cc66b49387ad58cc5b81568982a3560d49
Type (CWE)CWE-122 Heap-based Buffer Overflow

What is CVE-2026-29022?

dr_libs dr_wav.h version 0.14.4 and earlier (fixed in commit 8a7258c) contain a heap buffer overflow vulnerability in the drwav__read_smpl_to_metadata_obj() function of dr_wav.h that allows memory corruption via crafted WAV files. Attackers can exploit a mismatch between sampleLoopCount validation in pass 1 and unconditional processing in pass 2 to overflow heap allocations with 36 bytes of attacker-controlled data through any drwav_init_*_with_metadata() call on untrusted input. The CVSS base score is 6.8 (Medium). The official advisory is at https://github.com/marlinkcyber/advisories/blob/main/advisories/MCSAID-2026-001-dr-libs-heap-overflow.md.

Am I affected?

Check the version of dr_libs dr_wav.h you are running and compare it against the Affected row above (dr_libs dr_wav.h 0 to <=0.14.4). If your build sits inside the affected range, you must patch.

Run the version check that fits your platform:


# Linux package check
dpkg -s dr-libs-dr-wav-h 2>/dev/null | grep -i ^Version
rpm -q dr-libs-dr-wav-h 2>/dev/null
command -v dr-libs-dr-wav-h >/dev/null && dr-libs-dr-wav-h --version 2>/dev/null


# Windows (PowerShell)
Get-Package -Name "*dr_libs dr_wav.h*" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object Name, Version
winget list --name "dr_libs dr_wav.h" 2>$null

How to fix CVE-2026-29022

Upgrade dr_libs dr_wav.h to a patched build: dr_libs dr_wav.h 8a7258cc66b49387ad58cc5b81568982a3560d49. The vendor advisory is the source of truth for the exact fixed version.

Ubuntu / Debian


sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install --only-upgrade dr-libs-dr-wav-h
dpkg -s dr-libs-dr-wav-h | grep -i ^Version

RHEL / CentOS / Rocky / AlmaLinux


sudo dnf upgrade --refresh dr-libs-dr-wav-h -y
# or for older releases:
sudo yum update dr-libs-dr-wav-h -y
rpm -q dr-libs-dr-wav-h

SUSE / openSUSE


sudo zypper refresh
sudo zypper update dr-libs-dr-wav-h
rpm -q dr-libs-dr-wav-h

Complete PowerShell remediation script (Windows)


# Fix script for CVE-2026-29022 affecting dr_libs dr_wav.h
# Run as administrator. Detect -> backup -> upgrade -> verify -> log.

$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
$LogPath  = "C:\Logs\CVE-2026-29022-fix-$(Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd-HHmmss).log"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force (Split-Path $LogPath) | Out-Null
Start-Transcript -Path $LogPath -Append

try {
    Write-Host "[1/4] Detect installed version"
    $pkg = Get-Package -Name "*dr_libs dr_wav.h*" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    if ($pkg) { $pkg | Format-Table Name, Version }
    else { Write-Host "Not detected via Get-Package; try winget list" }

    Write-Host "[2/4] Backup configuration"
    $backup = "C:\Backup\dr-libs-dr-wav-h-$(Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd)"
    New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force $backup | Out-Null
    Get-ChildItem "C:\ProgramData\dr_libs dr_wav.h" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
        Copy-Item -Destination $backup -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

    Write-Host "[3/4] Apply the upgrade to dr_libs dr_wav.h 8a7258cc66b49387ad58cc5b81568982a3560d49"
    winget upgrade --name "dr_libs dr_wav.h" --silent --accept-source-agreements --accept-package-agreements
    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
        # Fallback: pull latest via OS update channel
        Install-Module -Name PSWindowsUpdate -Force -SkipPublisherCheck -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
        Import-Module PSWindowsUpdate
        Install-WindowsUpdate -MicrosoftUpdate -AcceptAll -IgnoreReboot
    }

    Write-Host "[4/4] Verify the patched build"
    winget list --name "dr_libs dr_wav.h"
    Write-Host "Patch applied. Reboot if prompted."
    exit 0
} catch {
    Write-Error "Patch failed: $_"
    exit 1
} finally {
    Stop-Transcript
}

Complete Bash remediation script (Linux)


#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Fix script for CVE-2026-29022 affecting dr_libs dr_wav.h
# Detect -> backup -> upgrade -> verify -> log.

set -euo pipefail
LOG="/var/log/cve-2026-29022-fix-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).log"
exec > >(tee -a "$LOG") 2>&1

echo "[1/4] Detect installed version"
if command -v dpkg >/dev/null; then
    dpkg -s dr-libs-dr-wav-h 2>/dev/null | grep -i ^Version || echo "dr-libs-dr-wav-h not installed via dpkg"
elif command -v rpm >/dev/null; then
    rpm -q dr-libs-dr-wav-h || echo "dr-libs-dr-wav-h not installed via rpm"
fi

echo "[2/4] Backup configuration"
BACKUP="/root/backup-cve-2026-29022-$(date +%Y%m%d)"
mkdir -p "$BACKUP"
for d in /etc/dr-libs-dr-wav-h /etc/dr-libs-dr-wav-h.d /etc/dr-libs-dr-wav-h.conf; do
    [ -e "$d" ] && cp -a "$d" "$BACKUP/" || true
done

echo "[3/4] Apply the upgrade (target: dr_libs dr_wav.h 8a7258cc66b49387ad58cc5b81568982a3560d49)"
if command -v apt-get >/dev/null; then
    apt-get update
    apt-get install --only-upgrade -y dr-libs-dr-wav-h
elif command -v dnf >/dev/null; then
    dnf upgrade --refresh -y dr-libs-dr-wav-h
elif command -v yum >/dev/null; then
    yum update -y dr-libs-dr-wav-h
elif command -v zypper >/dev/null; then
    zypper --non-interactive update dr-libs-dr-wav-h
fi

echo "[4/4] Verify the patched build"
if command -v dpkg >/dev/null; then
    dpkg -s dr-libs-dr-wav-h 2>/dev/null | grep -i ^Version
elif command -v rpm >/dev/null; then
    rpm -q dr-libs-dr-wav-h
fi
echo "Done. Restart any service that loaded the old library."

If you can't patch immediately

Apply at least one of the following inline controls until you can deploy the patched build. None replace the upgrade.

Restrict exposure with nftables (Linux)


# Allow only trusted CIDR to reach the affected service ports
sudo nft add table inet filter 2>/dev/null || true
sudo nft 'add chain inet filter input { type filter hook input priority 0 ; }' 2>/dev/null || true
sudo nft 'add rule inet filter input tcp dport {80, 443} ip saddr != 10.0.0.0/8 drop'
sudo nft list ruleset

Block at the host firewall (Windows)


New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Block-CVE-2026-29022" -Direction Inbound -Action Block -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 80,443 -RemoteAddress Any -Enabled True
Get-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Block-CVE-2026-29022"

Disable the affected service (Linux)


sudo systemctl stop dr-libs-dr-wav-h 2>/dev/null || true
sudo systemctl disable dr-libs-dr-wav-h 2>/dev/null || true

If the vendor advisory lists an official workaround, prefer that wording verbatim. If no workaround is published, the only safe remediation is the patch.

How to verify the fix worked

After upgrading, confirm the installed version matches the patched build and that no old library is still loaded by a long-running process.


# Linux
dpkg -s dr-libs-dr-wav-h 2>/dev/null | grep -i ^Version
rpm -q dr-libs-dr-wav-h 2>/dev/null || true
# Pid map check for old library handles
sudo lsof +c0 2>/dev/null | grep -i "DEL.*lib" || true


# Windows
Get-Package -Name "*dr_libs dr_wav.h*" | Select-Object Name, Version
Get-HotFix | Sort-Object InstalledOn -Descending | Select-Object -First 5

Expected: the reported version is at or above dr_libs dr_wav.h 8a7258cc66b49387ad58cc5b81568982a3560d49. Restart the affected service (systemctl restart <service> on Linux, or restart the Windows service) so it loads the patched binary.

Frequently asked questions

Other vulnerabilities in the same area that are worth patching alongside this one:

Is CVE-2026-29022 actively exploited?

There is no public confirmation of exploitation in the wild listed in CISA KEV at the time of this writing. Patch anyway. Public exploits commonly follow disclosure within weeks.

Do I need to reboot after patching CVE-2026-29022?

For kernel and OS-level updates, yes. For most userland packages a systemctl restart <service> is enough on Linux, and restarting the Windows service or app on Windows. Any process that loaded the old library keeps using it until restarted.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-29022?

6.8 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:L/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N.

Where is the official advisory for CVE-2026-29022?

The vendor advisory is at https://github.com/marlinkcyber/advisories/blob/main/advisories/MCSAID-2026-001-dr-libs-heap-overflow.md. The NVD record is at https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-29022.

References

*Written by Sai Kiran Pandrala. Assembled from the official vendor advisory, NVD record, and CISA KEV listing on 2026-05-25. Always confirm against the vendor's advisory before applying changes in production.*