Resource exhaustion in Ghidra via compressed theme archive
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Passive
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- None
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
Ghidra from 10.3 before 12.2 fails to limit the decompressed size or compression ratio of data in ThemeReader.processIconFile(), which is CWE-409. An attacker can persuade a user to import a crafted theme ZIP whose icon entries expand until they fill the host filesystem, so later writes fail. The attack requires user interaction and local access, and it affects availability.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-29
Description from the CNA
Ghidra 10.3 before 12.2 contains an improper handling of highly compressed data vulnerability in ThemeReader.processIconFile() that fails to limit decompressed size or compression ratio. Attackers can persuade a user to import a crafted theme ZIP whose icon entries expand to fill the host filesystem, causing later writes to fail.
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 | 10.3 to before 12.2 | 12.2 | Patch available | CNA |
- ghidra VendorNationalSecurityAgency Affected 10.3 to before 12.2 Fixed in 12.2 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:nsa:ghidra:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 10.3 to before 12.2 | Vulnerable | NationalSecurityAgency |
- cpe:2.3:a:nsa:ghidra:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 10.3 to before 12.2 Vulnerable ·NationalSecurityAgency
Remediation
Upgrade Ghidra to version 12.2 or later.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-29
- Fix · CNA ghidra (NationalSecurityAgency) Fixed in 12.2
Fixed in the same release
Records fixed by the same vendor advisory or release, as the CNA lists them.
- Release ·
NationalSecurityAgency ghidra 12.2
5 records Highest priority Priority LOW 5 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2026-79482 Resource exhaustion in Ghidra extension archive installationPriority LOW 31
- TI-2026-79485 Denial of service in Ghidra via compressed extension archivePriority LOW 29
- TI-2026-79483 Unbounded entry storage in Ghidra TAR and ZIP file system mountPriority LOW 29
Timeline
- 2026-10-22 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-115396
- 2026-10-22 Alias added: GHSA-fr5c-6rcj-3fw2
- 2026-10-23 Priority changed: MEDIUM → LOW
- 2026-10-29 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
More NationalSecurityAgency Ghidra vulnerabilities
- 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-2026-04310 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
- TI-2026-37870 Ghidra < 12.0.2 - Path Traversal in Extension Installer via ZIP Entry Names CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.4
- TI-2026-36646 Ghidra < 12.1 - Heap-Use-After-Free in SleighBuilder::generatePointerAdd via Vector Reallocation CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 6.9
Sources
- CVE-2026-115396 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-115396 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-fr5c-6rcj-3fw2 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences