CVE-2026-42248

HIGHCVSS 7.7/10EPSS 0.38%

Last modified

CVE-2026-42248 is a high-severity vulnerability rated 7.7/10 on the CVSS scale. Ollama for Windows does not perform integrity or authenticity verification of downloaded update executables. Unlike other platforms, the Windows implementation of the update verification routine unconditionally returns success so no digital signature or trust validation is performed before staging or executing update payloads, enabling attacker‑supplied executables to be accepted and later executed by the application. Critically, Ollama for Windows performs silent automatic updates, so the malicious payload may be installed automatically without user awareness. Maintainers of this project were notified early about this vulnerability, but didn't respond with the details of vulnerability or vulnerable version range. EPSS estimates a 0.38% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

Ollama for Windows does not perform integrity or authenticity verification of downloaded update executables. Unlike other platforms, the Windows implementation of the update verification routine unconditionally returns success so no digital signature or trust validation is performed before staging or executing update payloads, enabling attacker‑supplied executables to be accepted and later executed by the application. Critically, Ollama for Windows performs silent automatic updates, so the malicious payload may be installed automatically without user awareness. Maintainers of this project were notified early about this vulnerability, but didn't respond with the details of vulnerability or vulnerable version range. Versions from 0.12.10 to 0.17.5 were tested and confirmed as vulnerable, other versions were not tested but might also be vulnerable.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1
9.8/10

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

CVSS 4.0
7.7/10

CVSS:4.0/AV:A/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:L/SI:L/SA:L/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

EPSS Probability
0.38%

29.8th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

Affected Software

VendorProductVersions
OllamaOllama>= 0.12.10, <= 0.17.5

References

Timeline

Published
Last Modified
Status
Analyzed

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-42248?
Ollama for Windows does not perform integrity or authenticity verification of downloaded update executables. Unlike other platforms, the Windows implementation of the update verification routine unconditionally returns success so no digital signature or trust validation is performed before staging or executing update payloads, enabling attacker‑supplied executables to be accepted and later executed by the application. Critically, Ollama for Windows performs silent automatic updates, so the malicious payload may be installed automatically without user awareness. Maintainers of this project were notified early about this vulnerability, but didn't respond with the details of vulnerability or vulnerable version range. Versions from 0.12.10 to 0.17.5 were tested and confirmed as vulnerable, other versions were not tested but might also be vulnerable.
How severe is CVE-2026-42248?
CVE-2026-42248 has a CVSS score of 7.7/10 (HIGH severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.38% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2026-42248?
Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

Are you affected by CVE-2026-42248?

Run a free Strix scan to check your systems for this vulnerability.

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Source: NVD / NIST