USN-8011-1: Emacs vulnerabilities

Publication date

4 February 2026

Overview

Several security issues were fixed in Emacs.


Packages

  • emacs - An extensible, customizable, free/libre text editor — and more.

Details

It was discovered that Emacs could trigger unsafe Lisp macro expansion,
when a user invoked elisp-completion-at-point on untrusted Emacs Lisp
source code. An attacker could possibly use this issue to execute
arbitrary code. (CVE-2024-53920)

It was discovered that Emacs did not properly sanitize input when
handling certain URI schemes. An attacker could possibly use this issue
to execute arbitrary shell commands by tricking a user into opening a
specially crafted URL. (CVE-2025-1244)

It was discovered that Emacs could trigger unsafe Lisp macro expansion,
when a user invoked elisp-completion-at-point on untrusted Emacs Lisp
source code. An attacker could possibly use this issue to execute
arbitrary code. (CVE-2024-53920)

It was discovered that Emacs did not properly sanitize input when
handling certain URI schemes. An attacker could possibly use this issue
to execute arbitrary shell commands by tricking a user into opening a
specially crafted URL. (CVE-2025-1244)

Update instructions

In general, a standard system update will make all the necessary changes.

Learn more about how to get the fixes.

The problem can be corrected by updating your system to the following package versions:

Ubuntu Release Package Version
24.04 LTS noble emacs –  1:29.3+1-1ubuntu2+esm3  
emacs-bin-common –  1:29.3+1-1ubuntu2+esm3  
emacs-common –  1:29.3+1-1ubuntu2+esm3  
emacs-el –  1:29.3+1-1ubuntu2+esm3  
emacs-gtk –  1:29.3+1-1ubuntu2+esm3  
emacs-lucid –  1:29.3+1-1ubuntu2+esm3  
emacs-nox –  1:29.3+1-1ubuntu2+esm3  
emacs-pgtk –  1:29.3+1-1ubuntu2+esm3  
22.04 LTS jammy emacs –  1:27.1+1-3ubuntu5.2+esm1  
emacs-bin-common –  1:27.1+1-3ubuntu5.2+esm1  
emacs-common –  1:27.1+1-3ubuntu5.2+esm1  
emacs-el –  1:27.1+1-3ubuntu5.2+esm1  
emacs-gtk –  1:27.1+1-3ubuntu5.2+esm1  
emacs-lucid –  1:27.1+1-3ubuntu5.2+esm1  
emacs-nox –  1:27.1+1-3ubuntu5.2+esm1  
20.04 LTS focal emacs –  1:26.3+1-1ubuntu2+esm2  
emacs-bin-common –  1:26.3+1-1ubuntu2+esm2  
emacs-common –  1:26.3+1-1ubuntu2+esm2  
emacs-el –  1:26.3+1-1ubuntu2+esm2  
emacs-gtk –  1:26.3+1-1ubuntu2+esm2  
emacs-lucid –  1:26.3+1-1ubuntu2+esm2  
emacs-nox –  1:26.3+1-1ubuntu2+esm2  

Reduce your security exposure

Ubuntu Pro provides ten-year security coverage to 25,000+ packages in Main and Universe repositories, and it is free for up to five machines.


Have additional questions?

Talk to a member of the team ›