CVE-2026-6846: Heap-based Buffer Overflow in Red Hat Red Hat Hardened Images
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.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
This vulnerability (CVE-2026-6846) is a heap-buffer-overflow in binutils used by Red Hat Hardened Images. The flaw arises during the processing of a maliciously crafted XCOFF object file in the linking phase. Exploitation requires local attacker interaction to convince a user to process the crafted file. Successful exploitation could allow arbitrary code execution or cause denial of service. Red Hat has issued security advisories RHSA-2026:33527 and RHSA-2026:39022 providing updated binutils packages (versions 2.45.1-5.1.hum1 and 2.46.1-1.hum1) that fix this and other vulnerabilities. No known exploits in the wild have been reported.
Potential Impact
The vulnerability allows a local attacker to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the user processing the malicious XCOFF file or cause a denial of service by crashing the system. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 7.8 (High), reflecting high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts. This could lead to unauthorized command execution or system unavailability.
Mitigation Recommendations
Red Hat has released fixed versions of binutils RPMs for Red Hat Hardened Images addressing CVE-2026-6846. Users should apply the updates from advisories RHSA-2026:33527 and RHSA-2026:39022 promptly. Details and update instructions are available at https://images.redhat.com/. No other mitigation is indicated by the vendor advisory.
CVE-2026-6846: Heap-based Buffer Overflow in Red Hat Red Hat Hardened Images
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.
CVSS v3.1
Score 7.8high
Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
This vulnerability (CVE-2026-6846) is a heap-buffer-overflow in binutils used by Red Hat Hardened Images. The flaw arises during the processing of a maliciously crafted XCOFF object file in the linking phase. Exploitation requires local attacker interaction to convince a user to process the crafted file. Successful exploitation could allow arbitrary code execution or cause denial of service. Red Hat has issued security advisories RHSA-2026:33527 and RHSA-2026:39022 providing updated binutils packages (versions 2.45.1-5.1.hum1 and 2.46.1-1.hum1) that fix this and other vulnerabilities. No known exploits in the wild have been reported.
Potential Impact
The vulnerability allows a local attacker to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the user processing the malicious XCOFF file or cause a denial of service by crashing the system. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 7.8 (High), reflecting high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts. This could lead to unauthorized command execution or system unavailability.
Mitigation Recommendations
Red Hat has released fixed versions of binutils RPMs for Red Hat Hardened Images addressing CVE-2026-6846. Users should apply the updates from advisories RHSA-2026:33527 and RHSA-2026:39022 promptly. Details and update instructions are available at https://images.redhat.com/. No other mitigation is indicated by the vendor advisory.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- redhat
- Date Reserved
- 2026-04-22T07:59:20.292Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- null
- Vendor Advisory Urls
- [{"url":"https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-6846","vendor":"Red Hat"}]
Threat ID: 69e88e5219fe3cd2cd83b858
Added to database: 04/22/2026, 09:01:06 UTC
Last enriched: 07/16/2026, 09:11:54 UTC
Last updated: 07/31/2026, 19:23:00 UTC
Views: 276
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