{"description":"Trending threats, MITRE ATT\u0026CK coverage, and detection metadata — refreshed continuously.","feed_url":"https://feed.craftedsignal.io/tags/xcoff/","home_page_url":"https://feed.craftedsignal.io/","items":[{"_cs_actors":[],"_cs_cves":[{"cvss":7.8,"id":"CVE-2026-6846"}],"_cs_exploited":false,"_cs_products":[],"_cs_severities":["high"],"_cs_tags":["binutils","heap-buffer-overflow","CVE-2026-6846","xcoff"],"_cs_type":"advisory","_cs_vendors":[],"content_html":"\u003cp\u003eCVE-2026-6846 describes a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability found in the binutils suite of programs. The vulnerability occurs when processing a maliciously crafted XCOFF (Extended Common Object File Format) object file during the linking process. An attacker with local access could potentially exploit this flaw by enticing a user to process a malicious XCOFF file. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the user running binutils, unauthorized command execution, or a denial-of-service condition rendering the system unusable. This vulnerability affects systems where binutils is used for software development and linking, making it a significant concern for developers and system administrators.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"attack-chain\"\u003eAttack Chain\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe attacker crafts a malicious XCOFF object file designed to trigger the heap-based buffer overflow.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe attacker gains local access to a system where the victim uses binutils.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe attacker social engineers or tricks the victim into using binutils to link the malicious XCOFF file. This could involve including the malicious file in a build script or project.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhen binutils attempts to process the specially crafted XCOFF file during linking, it allocates an insufficient buffer on the heap.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe parsing of the malicious XCOFF file causes the heap buffer to overflow, overwriting adjacent memory regions.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe attacker carefully crafts the overflow to overwrite critical data structures or function pointers in memory.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe overwritten data structures or function pointers are used by binutils later in the linking process, diverting execution flow.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe attacker gains arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the user running binutils or causes a denial-of-service condition.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"impact\"\u003eImpact\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSuccessful exploitation of CVE-2026-6846 can have severe consequences. An attacker can gain arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the user running binutils, potentially leading to complete system compromise. A denial-of-service condition can also be triggered, rendering the affected system unusable. This vulnerability primarily impacts developers and system administrators who rely on binutils for software development and linking tasks. While the source does not provide specific numbers of victims, the wide usage of binutils makes this a potentially widespread vulnerability.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"recommendation\"\u003eRecommendation\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eApply patches released by your Linux distribution or other binutils vendor to address CVE-2026-6846.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eImplement file integrity monitoring to detect unauthorized modifications to binutils binaries.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDeploy the Sigma rule \u003ccode\u003eDetect Suspicious Binutils Invocation\u003c/code\u003e to identify potential exploitation attempts based on command-line arguments.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMonitor process creation events for binutils executing with unusual or unexpected parent processes.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n","date_modified":"2026-04-22T09:16:27Z","date_published":"2026-04-22T09:16:27Z","id":"/briefs/2026-04-binutils-xcoff-heap-overflow/","summary":"A heap-buffer-overflow vulnerability exists in binutils when processing a specially crafted XCOFF object file, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or denial of service.","title":"Binutils XCOFF Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability (CVE-2026-6846)","url":"https://feed.craftedsignal.io/briefs/2026-04-binutils-xcoff-heap-overflow/"}],"language":"en","title":"CraftedSignal Threat Feed — Xcoff","version":"https://jsonfeed.org/version/1.1"}