CVE-2026-6845
Description
A flaw was found in binutils, specifically within the readelf utility. This vulnerability allows a local attacker to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) by tricking a user into processing a specially crafted Executable and Linkable Format (ELF) file. The exploitation of this flaw can lead to the system becoming unresponsive due to excessive resource consumption or a program crash.
Statement
This Moderate impact vulnerability in the readelf utility, part of binutils, can lead to a denial of service. An attacker could exploit this by convincing a user to process a specially crafted ELF file, resulting in resource exhaustion or a null pointer dereference. This affects Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Red Hat Developer Toolset where readelf is used to examine untrusted ELF binaries.
Mitigation
To mitigate this issue, users should avoid processing untrusted or suspicious ELF files with the `readelf` utility. No specific configuration or operational control is available to prevent this vulnerability without affecting the intended functionality of `readelf`.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 5 | N/A | 5 |
| Attack Vector | Local | N/A | Local |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | Low |
| Privileges Required | Low | N/A | Low |
| User Interaction | Required | N/A | Required |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | None | N/A | None |
| Integrity Impact | None | N/A | None |
| Availability Impact | High | N/A | High |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
NULL pointer dereferences usually result in the failure of the process unless exception handling (on some platforms) is available and implemented. Even when exception handling is being used, it can still be very difficult to return the software to a safe state of operation.
Integrity,Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; Read Memory; Modify Memory
In rare circumstances, when NULL is equivalent to the 0x0 memory address and privileged code can access it, then writing or reading memory is possible, which may lead to code execution.
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