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PatchSiren cyber security CVE debrief

CVE-2026-6846 Red Hat CVE debrief

CVE-2026-6846 is a high-severity heap-buffer-overflow in GNU binutils while processing a specially crafted XCOFF object file during linking. If a user is tricked into handling a malicious file, the flaw could corrupt memory and may lead to arbitrary code execution or a denial of service. NVD’s analysis lists GNU binutils up to 2.46 as affected, and also includes Red Hat-linked platform entries that should be validated against your installed packages and vendor advisories.

Vendor
Red Hat
Product
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
CVSS
HIGH 7.8
CISA KEV
Not listed in stored evidence
Original CVE published
2026-04-22
Original CVE updated
2026-09-01
Advisory published
2026-04-22
Advisory updated
2026-09-01

Who should care

System administrators, build and release engineers, developers, and security teams who use GNU binutils or process untrusted object files—especially in environments that build, inspect, or link third-party XCOFF content. Red Hat customers should also check the linked vendor advisory and product applicability.

Technical summary

The issue is classified as CWE-122 (heap-based buffer overflow). NVD reports CVSS 3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, indicating a local attack path that depends on user interaction. The vulnerable behavior occurs during linking of a specially crafted XCOFF object file, so workflows that open, inspect, or build with untrusted object files are the primary exposure point.

Defensive priority

High. The attack requires user interaction, but the potential impact includes code execution and full confidentiality/integrity/availability compromise. Prioritize remediation in any environment that processes untrusted or third-party object files, or where binutils is part of automated build pipelines.

Recommended defensive actions

  • Check whether your systems use GNU binutils at or below the affected version range reported by NVD (through 2.46).
  • Review the Red Hat advisory and bug tracking reference for package-specific fix status and backport availability.
  • Limit handling of untrusted XCOFF object files and treat externally supplied build artifacts as potentially malicious.
  • Apply vendor patches or upgraded packages as soon as they are available for your distribution or product.
  • If patching is delayed, reduce exposure by restricting who can run the affected linking workflows and by isolating build or analysis environments.
  • Validate any Red Hat platform entries listed by NVD against your actual installed components before assuming impact.

Evidence notes

This debrief is based only on the supplied NVD/NVD-modified record and the referenced official/vendor links. The record identifies the flaw as a heap-buffer-overflow in binutils during XCOFF linking, assigns CWE-122, and records CVSS 3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. NVD also lists GNU binutils through 2.46 and several Red Hat-related CPEs. No additional product-fix details were supplied in the corpus.

Sources and references

Verified primary and authoritative sources

  • CVE-2026-6846 CVE Program record

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-6846

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

  • CVE-2026-6846 NVD vulnerability detail

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-6846

    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.