CVE-2026-6846: gnu binutils Heap-based Buffer Overflow

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2026-6846 is a high (CVSS 7.8) Heap-based Buffer Overflow vulnerability in gnu binutils. EPSS estimates a 0.20% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 8.7% of scored vulnerabilities.

Timeline

1. 22-04-2026
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 01-09-2026
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

A flaw was found in binutils. A heap-buffer-overflow vulnerability exists when processing a specially crafted XCOFF (Extended Common Object File Format) object file during linking. A local attacker could trick a user into processing this malicious file, which could lead to arbitrary code execution, allowing the attacker to run unauthorized commands, or cause a denial of service, making the system unavailable.

• CWE-122Heap-based Buffer OverflowA heap overflow condition is a buffer overflow, where the buffer that can be overwritten is allocated in the heap portion of memory, generally meaning that the buffer was allocated using a routine such as malloc().