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Vulnerability record · CVE-2026-18220 · published 29 July 2026

CVE-2026-18220: Out-of-bounds write vulnerability

An out-of-bounds write vulnerability was found in the BFD library's DLX ELF backend (bfd/elf32-dlx.c) in GNU binutils. The dlx_rtype_to_howto() function maps ELF relocation types to internal howto structures but fails to perform adequate bounds checking on attacker-controlled relocation type values (via ELF32_R_TYPE(r_info)) before indexing into the dlx_elf_howto_table[] array. The DLX relocation type number space is non-contiguous (basic types 0-6, extended types at 0x10000+), but the default case in the switch statement allows arbitrary index values to reach the array access. A specially crafted ELF/DLX object file can trigger this out-of-bounds write when processed by any BFD-consuming tool (objdump, readelf, strip, ld, nm, objcopy). The vulnerability has been demonstrated to achieve arbitrary code execution via a File Stream Oriented Programming (FSOP) attack against glibc FILE structures (stderr), redirecting control flow to system(). Attack scenarios include CI/CD pipelines performing automated binary analysis, developer workstations running objdump/readelf on untrusted binaries, automated security scanning or malware analysis tools invoking binutils, and package build systems processing third-party code. Note: This vulnerability is only exploitable when binutils is built with the DLX backend enabled (typically via --enable-targets=all).

7.8 CVSS 3.1 High EPSS 0.19% · top 92.7% CWE-787 · Out-of-bounds write Awaiting Analysis
7.8CVSS 3.1 base score
0.19%EPSS exploitation probability, 30 days
NoNot in CISA KEV
0Affected product versions listed by NVD
2References
30 Jul 2026Last modified by NVD

Description

An out-of-bounds write vulnerability was found in the BFD library's DLX ELF backend (bfd/elf32-dlx.c) in GNU binutils. The dlx_rtype_to_howto() function maps ELF relocation types to internal howto structures but fails to perform adequate bounds checking on attacker-controlled relocation type values (via ELF32_R_TYPE(r_info)) before indexing into the dlx_elf_howto_table[] array. The DLX relocation type number space is non-contiguous (basic types 0-6, extended types at 0x10000+), but the default case in the switch statement allows arbitrary index values to reach the array access. A specially crafted ELF/DLX object file can trigger this out-of-bounds write when processed by any BFD-consuming tool (objdump, readelf, strip, ld, nm, objcopy). The vulnerability has been demonstrated to achieve arbitrary code execution via a File Stream Oriented Programming (FSOP) attack against glibc FILE structures (stderr), redirecting control flow to system(). Attack scenarios include CI/CD pipelines performing automated binary analysis, developer workstations running objdump/readelf on untrusted binaries, automated security scanning or malware analysis tools invoking binutils, and package build systems processing third-party code. Note: This vulnerability is only exploitable when binutils is built with the DLX backend enabled (typically via --enable-targets=all).

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

References

LinkTags
https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-18220
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2507670

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Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database (record CVE-2026-18220), CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS (scores of 2026-09-26). This page is refreshed as NVD updates the record.