FKIE_CVE-2026-19548
Vulnerability from fkie_nvd - Published: 2026-08-12 16:16 - Updated: 2026-08-14 19:07
Severity
Summary
Multiple Use-After-Free vulnerabilities were found in the add_archive_element function in ld/ldmain.c of the GNU linker (ld), a component of binutils. The root cause is that plugin_maybe_claim() in ld/plugin.c frees the original BFD object via bfd_close/_bfd_delete_bfd when entry->the_bfd->my_archive == NULL, but the caller retains both the original abfd parameter and a shallow copy (orig_input.the_bfd) as dangling pointers. These dangling pointers are subsequently dereferenced at three distinct locations in add_archive_element:
1. Line ~1442: accessing abfd->my_archive via bfd_usrdata(abfd->my_archive)
2. Line ~1493: multiple accesses to abfd and abfd->my_archive in a conditional check and bfd_get_filename call
3. Line ~1525: dereferencing the shallow copy orig_input.the_bfd->my_archive in trace/verbose logging
The vulnerability is triggered when LTO plugins are active (link_info.lto_plugin_active is true) and the input object has abfd->my_archive == NULL, which is a valid state for standalone object files. Red Hat builds binutils with --enable-plugins and --enable-lto, confirming the vulnerable code path is compiled in and reachable.
An attacker who can supply a crafted object or archive file to a build process using LTO-enabled linking could exploit this flaw to cause a denial of service (linker crash via segmentation fault). Arbitrary code execution is theoretically possible through heap manipulation but is substantially mitigated by hardening measures including stack protector, FORTIFY_SOURCE, ASLR, and PIE.
The attack surface is limited to build-time environments — the linker is a development tool not exposed in production runtime. The most realistic exploitation scenario is a supply chain attack introducing a crafted object file as a build dependency in CI/CD pipelines or development environments.
References
Impacted products
| Vendor | Product | Version |
|---|
{
"affected": [
{
"affectedData": [
{
"collectionURL": "https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/",
"cpes": [
"cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:10"
],
"defaultStatus": "affected",
"packageName": "binutils",
"product": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10",
"vendor": "Red Hat"
},
{
"collectionURL": "https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/",
"cpes": [
"cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:10"
],
"defaultStatus": "affected",
"packageName": "gcc-toolset-15-binutils",
"product": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10",
"vendor": "Red Hat"
},
{
"collectionURL": "https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/",
"cpes": [
"cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:10"
],
"defaultStatus": "affected",
"packageName": "gcc-toolset-16-binutils",
"product": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10",
"vendor": "Red Hat"
},
{
"collectionURL": "https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/",
"cpes": [
"cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:10"
],
"defaultStatus": "affected",
"packageName": "mingw-binutils",
"product": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10",
"vendor": "Red Hat"
},
{
"collectionURL": "https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/",
"cpes": [
"cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:6"
],
"defaultStatus": "unknown",
"packageName": "binutils",
"product": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6",
"vendor": "Red Hat"
},
{
"collectionURL": "https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/",
"cpes": [
"cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7"
],
"defaultStatus": "affected",
"packageName": "binutils",
"product": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7",
"vendor": "Red Hat"
},
{
"collectionURL": "https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/",
"cpes": [
"cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8"
],
"defaultStatus": "affected",
"packageName": "binutils",
"product": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8",
"vendor": "Red Hat"
},
{
"collectionURL": "https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/",
"cpes": [
"cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8"
],
"defaultStatus": "affected",
"packageName": "gcc-toolset-14-binutils",
"product": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8",
"vendor": "Red Hat"
},
{
"collectionURL": "https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/",
"cpes": [
"cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8"
],
"defaultStatus": "affected",
"packageName": "gcc-toolset-15-binutils",
"product": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8",
"vendor": "Red Hat"
},
{
"collectionURL": "https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/",
"cpes": [
"cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8"
],
"defaultStatus": "affected",
"packageName": "mingw-binutils",
"product": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8",
"vendor": "Red Hat"
},
{
"collectionURL": "https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/",
"cpes": [
"cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9"
],
"defaultStatus": "affected",
"packageName": "binutils",
"product": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9",
"vendor": "Red Hat"
},
{
"collectionURL": "https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/",
"cpes": [
"cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9"
],
"defaultStatus": "affected",
"packageName": "gcc-toolset-14-binutils",
"product": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9",
"vendor": "Red Hat"
},
{
"collectionURL": "https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/",
"cpes": [
"cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9"
],
"defaultStatus": "affected",
"packageName": "gcc-toolset-15-binutils",
"product": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9",
"vendor": "Red Hat"
},
{
"collectionURL": "https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/",
"cpes": [
"cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9"
],
"defaultStatus": "affected",
"packageName": "gcc-toolset-16-binutils",
"product": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9",
"vendor": "Red Hat"
},
{
"collectionURL": "https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/",
"cpes": [
"cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9"
],
"defaultStatus": "affected",
"packageName": "mingw-binutils",
"product": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9",
"vendor": "Red Hat"
},
{
"collectionURL": "https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/",
"cpes": [
"cpe:/a:redhat:hummingbird:1"
],
"defaultStatus": "affected",
"packageName": "binutils",
"product": "Red Hat Hardened Images",
"vendor": "Red Hat"
},
{
"collectionURL": "https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/",
"cpes": [
"cpe:/a:redhat:openshift:4"
],
"defaultStatus": "affected",
"packageName": "rhcos",
"product": "Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4",
"vendor": "Red Hat"
}
],
"source": "secalert@redhat.com"
}
],
"cveTags": [],
"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "Multiple Use-After-Free vulnerabilities were found in the add_archive_element function in ld/ldmain.c of the GNU linker (ld), a component of binutils. The root cause is that plugin_maybe_claim() in ld/plugin.c frees the original BFD object via bfd_close/_bfd_delete_bfd when entry-\u003ethe_bfd-\u003emy_archive == NULL, but the caller retains both the original abfd parameter and a shallow copy (orig_input.the_bfd) as dangling pointers. These dangling pointers are subsequently dereferenced at three distinct locations in add_archive_element:\n\n1. Line ~1442: accessing abfd-\u003emy_archive via bfd_usrdata(abfd-\u003emy_archive)\n2. Line ~1493: multiple accesses to abfd and abfd-\u003emy_archive in a conditional check and bfd_get_filename call\n3. Line ~1525: dereferencing the shallow copy orig_input.the_bfd-\u003emy_archive in trace/verbose logging\n\nThe vulnerability is triggered when LTO plugins are active (link_info.lto_plugin_active is true) and the input object has abfd-\u003emy_archive == NULL, which is a valid state for standalone object files. Red Hat builds binutils with --enable-plugins and --enable-lto, confirming the vulnerable code path is compiled in and reachable.\n\nAn attacker who can supply a crafted object or archive file to a build process using LTO-enabled linking could exploit this flaw to cause a denial of service (linker crash via segmentation fault). Arbitrary code execution is theoretically possible through heap manipulation but is substantially mitigated by hardening measures including stack protector, FORTIFY_SOURCE, ASLR, and PIE.\n\nThe attack surface is limited to build-time environments \u2014 the linker is a development tool not exposed in production runtime. The most realistic exploitation scenario is a supply chain attack introducing a crafted object file as a build dependency in CI/CD pipelines or development environments."
}
],
"id": "CVE-2026-19548",
"lastModified": "2026-08-14T19:07:46.080",
"metrics": {
"cvssMetricV31": [
{
"cvssData": {
"attackComplexity": "LOW",
"attackVector": "LOCAL",
"availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
"baseScore": 5.5,
"baseSeverity": "MEDIUM",
"confidentialityImpact": "NONE",
"integrityImpact": "NONE",
"privilegesRequired": "NONE",
"scope": "UNCHANGED",
"userInteraction": "REQUIRED",
"vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H",
"version": "3.1"
},
"exploitabilityScore": 1.8,
"impactScore": 3.6,
"source": "secalert@redhat.com",
"type": "Secondary"
}
],
"ssvcV203": [
{
"source": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0",
"ssvcData": {
"id": "CVE-2026-19548",
"options": [
{
"exploitation": "none"
},
{
"automatable": "no"
},
{
"technicalImpact": "partial"
}
],
"role": "CISA Coordinator",
"timestamp": "2026-08-12T16:52:48.222617Z",
"version": "2.0.3"
}
}
]
},
"published": "2026-08-12T16:16:55.777",
"references": [
{
"source": "secalert@redhat.com",
"url": "https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-19548"
},
{
"source": "secalert@redhat.com",
"url": "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2507832"
}
],
"sourceIdentifier": "secalert@redhat.com",
"vulnStatus": "Undergoing Analysis",
"weaknesses": [
{
"description": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "CWE-416"
}
],
"source": "secalert@redhat.com",
"type": "Secondary"
}
]
}
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Experimental. This forecast is provided for visualization only and may change without notice. Do not use it for operational decisions.
Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
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The MITRE ATT&CK techniques below are AI-generated suggestions, inferred from the description of the
vulnerability by the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-classification-roberta-base
model, served locally by ML-Gateway.
They have not been verified by an analyst and are provided for guidance only.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.
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