Ghidra < 12.1.3 PDB Parser Uncontrolled Heap Growth DoS via AbstractPdb
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Active
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- None
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-770.
Summary
Ghidra before 12.1.3 contains an uncontrolled resource consumption vulnerability in the PDB parser that allows attackers to terminate the Ghidra process by supplying a crafted PDB file with an oversized parameters section. The AbstractPdb deserialization routine reads all remaining parameters into an unbounded list, causing uncontrolled heap growth that triggers an OutOfMemoryError which bypasses exception handling and crashes the application.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NationalSecurityAgency | ghidra | before 12.1.3 | 12.1.3 | Patch available | CNA |
- ghidra VendorNationalSecurityAgency Affected before 12.1.3 Fixed in 12.1.3 Patch available CNA
CPE names Threatist (inferred) · 1
Inferred from how NVD named this product before; not given by a source.
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:nsa:ghidra:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | — | — | NationalSecurityAgency |
- cpe:2.3:a:nsa:ghidra:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions — — ·NationalSecurityAgency
Remediation
- Fix · CNA ghidra (NationalSecurityAgency) Fixed in 12.1.3
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-54389
References
More NationalSecurityAgency vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-39515 NationalSecurityAgency/skills-service has Stored XSS via User Registration Enabling Admin Account Takeover CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.6
- TI-2023-08846 Ghidra/RuntimeScripts/Linux/support/launch.sh in NSA Ghidra through 10.2.2 passes… CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-37876 Ghidra < 12.1 - SQL Injection via Unescaped Filter Values in BSim Search CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-27685 Emissary has an OS Command Injection via Unvalidated IN_FILE_ENDING / OUT_FILE_ENDING in Executrix CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2026-04310 NSA Ghidra Auto-Analysis Annotation Command Execution CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2026-37873 Ghidra < 12.0.4 - Path Traversal via Zip Slip in Theme Import CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.4
Sources
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences