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PatchSiren cyber security CVE debrief

CVE-2026-49496 nationalsecurityagency CVE debrief

CVE-2026-49496 is a medium-severity heap-use-after-free vulnerability in Ghidra before version 12.1. The vulnerability is caused by iterator invalidation when PcodeCacher::allocateInstruction reallocates the issued vector. This can be triggered by decompiling malicious binaries through the public Sleigh::oneInstruction C++ API, affecting downstream SLEIGH library consumers. The CVSS score for this vulnerability is 6.9, indicating a medium severity.

Vendor
nationalsecurityagency
Product
ghidra
CVSS
MEDIUM 6.9
CISA KEV
Not listed in stored evidence
Original CVE published
2026-06-10
Original CVE updated
2026-07-14
Advisory published
2026-06-10
Advisory updated
2026-07-14

Who should care

Users of Ghidra before version 12.1 should be aware of this vulnerability and take steps to mitigate it.

Technical summary

The vulnerability is located in SleighBuilder::generatePointerAdd and is caused by iterator invalidation when PcodeCacher::allocateInstruction reallocates the issued vector. This can lead to memory corruption when decompiling malicious binaries through the public Sleigh::oneInstruction C++ API.

Defensive priority

Medium

Recommended defensive actions

  • Update Ghidra to version 12.1 or later.
  • Avoid decompiling untrusted binaries using the public Sleigh::oneInstruction C++ API.

Evidence notes

The CVE record and NVD detail can be found at [cve-org] and [nvd], respectively. Additional information and mitigations can be found at [ref-4], [ref-5], and [ref-6].

Sources and references

Verified primary and authoritative sources

  • CVE-2026-49496 CVE Program record

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-49496

    CVE Program - Official CVE Program record with source-provided CVE metadata.

  • CVE-2026-49496 NVD vulnerability detail

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-49496

    NIST National Vulnerability Database - Official NIST NVD detail page and source-specific vulnerability assessment.

Supplemental references

Methodology and review provenance

AI-assisted synthesis based on stored public vulnerability evidence. System validation, approval state, and publication status do not by themselves establish human review of this revision. PatchSiren helps prioritize defensive review and does not prove exposure or remediation on any system.