Binutils: binutils: denial of service vulnerabilities in readelf via crafted elf files
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-6844 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | redhat |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-04-22 09:16:27 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-05-20 14:00:12 UTC |
| Description | A flaw was found in the `readelf` utility of the binutils package. A local attacker could exploit two Denial of Service (DoS) vulnerabilities by providing a specially crafted Executable and Linkable Format (ELF) file. One vulnerability, a resource exhaustion (CWE-400), can lead to an out-of-memory condition. The other, a null pointer dereference (CWE-476), can cause a segmentation fault. Both issues can result in the `readelf` utility becoming unresponsive or crashing, leading to a denial of service. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.1 5.5 MEDIUM from [email protected]
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS: 0.000190000 probability, percentile 0.054590000 (date 2026-05-27)
Problem Types: CWE-400 | CWE-400 Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Primary | 5.5 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
| 3.1 | CNA | CVSS | 5.5 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
LocalAttack Complexity
LowPrivileges Required
NoneUser Interaction
RequiredScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
NoneIntegrity
NoneAvailability
HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)
| Type | Vendor | Product | Version | Update | Edition | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application | Gnu | Binutils | - | All | All | All |
| Operating System | Redhat | Enterprise Linux | 10.0 | All | All | All |
| Operating System | Redhat | Enterprise Linux | 7.0 | All | All | All |
| Operating System | Redhat | Enterprise Linux | 8.0 | All | All | All |
| Operating System | Redhat | Enterprise Linux | 9.0 | All | All | All |
| Application | Redhat | Hardened Images | - | All | All | All |
| Application | Redhat | Openshift Container Platform | 4.0 | All | All | All |
Vendor Declared Affected Products
| Source | Vendor | Product | Version | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Hardened Images | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | Not specified | Not specified |
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi | [email protected] | bugzilla.redhat.com | Issue Tracking, Third Party Advisory |
| access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-6844 | [email protected] | access.redhat.com | Third Party Advisory |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
Vendor Comments And Credit
Discovery Credit
CNA: Red Hat would like to thank samuel kariri kamau for reporting this issue. (en)
Additional Advisory Data
| Source | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| CNA | 2026-04-13T00:00:00.000Z | Reported to Red Hat. |
| CNA | 2026-04-13T00:00:00.000Z | Made public. |
Workarounds
CNA: To mitigate this vulnerability, users should avoid using the `readelf` utility on untrusted or suspicious ELF files. Processing a specially crafted ELF file with `readelf` can lead to a denial of service.
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.