CVE-2026-34781: Electron Crash Vulnerability

LOW
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-f37v-82c4-4x64
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CVSS 2.8
CWE-476
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-34781 is a LOW (CVSS 2.8) crash vulnerability (CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference) affecting Electron libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves crash in clipboard.readimage() on malformed clipboard image data. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 39.8.5, 40.8.5, 41.1.0, 42.0.0-alpha.5.

CVE-2026-34781 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-34781
GHSA Identifier GHSA-f37v-82c4-4x64
Severity LOW
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 2.8
CWE Classification CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference
Affected Product Electron
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 2.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L).

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction Required (UI:R)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality None (C:N)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability Low (A:L)

How to Fix CVE-2026-34781

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Electron dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

electron fixed: 39.8.5 
npm install electron@39.8.5
electron fixed: 40.8.5 
npm install electron@40.8.5
electron fixed: 41.1.0 
npm install electron@41.1.0
electron fixed: 42.0.0-alpha.5 
npm install electron@42.0.0-alpha.5
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

npm ls electron

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2026-34781, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls electron

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Electron in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 39.8.5), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls electron command inspects dependencies declared in your package.json and lockfile; it does not perform automated runtime dynamic scanning.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference, where the product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is null. In Electron, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

### Impact Apps that call `clipboard.readImage()` may be vulnerable to a denial of service. If the system clipboard contains image data that fails to decode, the resulting null bitmap is passed unchecked to image construction, triggering a controlled abort and crashing the process. Apps are only affected if they call `clipboard.readImage()`. Apps that do not read images from the clipboard are not affected. This issue does not allow memory corruption or code execution. ### Workarounds Validate that the clipboard contains image data via `clipboard.availableFormats()` before calling `clipboard.readImage()`. Note this only narrows the window — upgrading to a fixed version is recommended. ### Fixed Versions * `42.0.0-alpha.5` * `41.1.0` * `40.8.5` * `39.8.5` ### For more information If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, email us at [security@electronjs.org](mailto:security@electronjs.org)

CVE-2026-34781 Affected Electron Versions

4 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
39.8.540.8.541.1.042.0.0-alpha.5
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
electron
npm/electron
npm
< 39.8.5
39.8.5
electron
npm/electron
npm
≥ 40.0.0-alpha.1
< 40.8.5
40.8.5
electron
npm/electron
npm
≥ 41.0.0-alpha.1
< 41.1.0
41.1.0
electron
npm/electron
npm
≥ 42.0.0-alpha.1
< 42.0.0-alpha.5
42.0.0-alpha.5

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/electron/electron/security/advisories/GHSA-f37v-82c4-4x64
NVD — CVE-2026-34781 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-34781
Electron Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/electron/electron/pull/50475
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/electron/electron/commit/a48f03fb8d03933547281ddb2dbb6c6b9e705287
Electron Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/electron/electron
Electron Release RELEASE
https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v39.8.5
Electron Release RELEASE
https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v40.8.5
Electron Release RELEASE
https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v41.1.0
Electron Release RELEASE
https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v42.0.0-alpha.5

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-34781?
CVE-2026-34781 is a security vulnerability in Electron involving Crash in clipboard.readImage() on malformed clipboard image data under CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference.
Which Electron versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 39.8.5, 40.8.5, 41.1.0, 42.0.0-alpha.5 across affected packages: electron.
What version fixes CVE-2026-34781?
Upgrading to 39.8.5, 40.8.5, 41.1.0, 42.0.0-alpha.5 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is electron affected?
Yes, electron is affected in releases prior to 39.8.5, 40.8.5, 41.1.0, 42.0.0-alpha.5. Upgrade your dependency to 39.8.5, 40.8.5, 41.1.0, 42.0.0-alpha.5 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-34781?
CVE-2026-34781 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 2.8 (LOW) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-34781?
CVE-2026-34781 is classified under CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference (The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2026-34781?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls electron'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-f37v-82c4-4x64",
  "modified" : "2026-04-08T11:57:06Z",
  "published" : "2026-04-07T15:52:28Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-34781" ],
  "summary" : "Electron: Crash in clipboard.readImage() on malformed clipboard image data",
  "details" : "### Impact\nApps that call `clipboard.readImage()` may be vulnerable to a denial of service. If the system clipboard contains image data that fails to decode, the resulting null bitmap is passed unchecked to image construction, triggering a controlled abort and crashing the process.\n\nApps are only affected if they call `clipboard.readImage()`. Apps that do not read images from the clipboard are not affected. This issue does not allow memory corruption or code execution.\n\n### Workarounds\nValidate that the clipboard contains image data via `clipboard.availableFormats()` before calling `clipboard.readImage()`. Note this only narrows the window — upgrading to a fixed version is recommended.\n\n### Fixed Versions\n* `42.0.0-alpha.5`\n* `41.1.0`\n* `40.8.5`\n* `39.8.5`\n\n### For more information\nIf you have any questions or comments about this advisory, email us at [security@electronjs.org](mailto:security@electronjs.org)",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
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    },
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  }, {
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      }, {
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      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/electron/electron/security/advisories/GHSA-f37v-82c4-4x64"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-34781"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/electron/electron/pull/50475"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/electron/electron/commit/a48f03fb8d03933547281ddb2dbb6c6b9e705287"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/electron/electron"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v39.8.5"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v40.8.5"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v41.1.0"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v42.0.0-alpha.5"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-476" ],
    "severity" : "LOW",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-04-07T15:52:28Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-04-07T22:16:23Z"
  }
}