GNU Binutils Section Merge merge.c _bfd_write_merged_section null pointer dereference
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- None
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- Low · Low · Low
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 1 fixed, 7 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-404.
Summary
A security vulnerability has been detected in GNU Binutils 2.47. Impacted is the function _bfd_write_merged_section of the file bfd/merge.c of the component Section Merge. The manipulation leads to null pointer dereference. The attack needs to be performed locally. The exploit has been disclosed publicly and may be used. The project was informed of the problem early through a bug report but has not responded yet.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- Poc
- 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
Remediation
Red Hat 1 advisory
- RHSA-2026:47171 Released 2026-07-28 · Red Hat rating ModerateRed Hat Hardened Images RPMs Security Update
- Red Hat Hardened Images binutils-2.46.1-1.1.hum1@aarch64, binutils-2.46.1-1.1.hum1@src, binutils-2.46.1-1.1.hum1@x86_64 +6
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | — |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | — |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | — |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | — |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | — |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | Affected | — |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5 | Affected | — |
| Red Hat Hardened Images | Fixed | RHSA-2026:47171 |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-90830
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-4xpf-8h39-fxrf
- 2026-10-30 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
More GNU Binutils vulnerabilities
- TI-2020-13695 An issue was discovered in binutils libbfd.c 2.36 relating to the auxiliary symbol data… CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2025-42907 GNU Binutils thru 2.46 readelf contains a double free vulnerability when processing a… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2025-41071 An issue was discovered in function d_print_comp_inner in file cp-demangle.c in BinUtils… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2025-41069 An issue was discovered in function d_discriminator in file cp-demangle.c in BinUtils… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2025-41068 A buffer overflow vulnerability in function gnu_special in file cplus-dem.c in BinUtils… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2021-21105 Heap-based Buffer Overflow in function bfd_getl32 in Binutils objdump 3.37. CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
Sources
- CVE-2026-90830 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-90830 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-4xpf-8h39-fxrf · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-90830 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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