CVE-2026-54073
VeraCrypt: Hidden volume quick format weakens plausible deniability
- State
- Published
- Severity
- 4.6 Medium
- Published
- Aug 21, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 21, 2026
- Reserved
- Jun 11, 2026
Description
VeraCrypt provides disk encryption with strong security based on TrueCrypt. From 1.26.6 until 1.26.29, file-hosted hidden volume creation forces quick format and the FormatNoFs function in src/Common/Format.c and FormatFat function in src/Common/Fat.c use WriteFile to place raw zeroed sectors at predictable 128 MiB intervals. These writes bypass the normal EncryptDataUnits formatting path, leaving deterministic plaintext markers in an area expected to resemble random ciphertext. The markers can weaken plausible deniability during forensic inspection, although they do not disclose hidden-volume content or reduce the strength of VeraCrypt encryption. This issue is fixed in version 1.26.29.
Scores
| CVSS | Score | Vector | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0 | 4.6 Medium | CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N | GitHub_M |
Weaknesses
- CWE-693 Protection Mechanism Failure
Affected Products
| Product | Versions |
|---|---|
VeraCryptveracrypt |
|
References
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