---
id: "CVE-2026-55543"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-55543"]
title: "TuxGuitar: opening a crafted .tg file runs attacker code"
severity: "high"
cvss: 8.5
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "package"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["desktop", "linux", "macos", "music-software", "package", "tuxguitar", "windows"]
not_affected_if: ["only-trusted-files", "version-2.1.0-or-later"]
published_at: "2026-10-16T16:18:43+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-23T21:57:13+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-25T03:01:36+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-55543", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-23T21:57:13+00:00"}]
---

# TuxGuitar: opening a crafted .tg file runs attacker code

TuxGuitar, an open-source guitar tablature editor, loads a class named inside a crafted .tg file through an unverified class loader when the file is opened. An attacker who gets a user to open that file runs code with the privileges of the TuxGuitar process.

_Summary, check and fix written by a model from the sources; labelled as such._

## How to check

- Run the TuxGuitar launcher or check the installed package version; affected builds are earlier than `2.1.0`.
- Check the installed version of the TuxGuitar package on each workstation that opens tablature files.

## Fix

- Upgrade TuxGuitar to `2.1.0` or later.
- Until upgraded, open only .tg files from trusted sources.

## Timeline

- 2026-10-23T21:57:13+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-55543

## From the sources

TuxGuitar is an open-source guitar tablature editor. Prior to 2.1.0, an untrusted .tg file can set gervil.soundbank.path to reference an on-disk archive, including the .tg file itself, whose META-INF/services/javax.sound.midi.Soundbank entry names an attacker-supplied class stored in that archive. When a user opens the file, JARSoundbankReader uses an unverified class loader to load and instantiate that class, executing its constructor with the privileges of the TuxGuitar process. This issue is fixed in version 2.1.0.

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