# CVE-2026-3442: Binutils: gnu binutils: information disclosure or denial of service via out-of-bounds read in bfd linker

> An attacker can cause information disclosure or denial of service by tricking a user into processing a malicious XCOFF object file with the bfd linker.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 15 Mar 2026
- **Updated:** 1 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2026-3442, ECHO-16be-74b0-122b, GHSA-j3rv-75wm-77rm, MINI-r9cr-w4cq-7r36, ROOT-OS-ALPINE-319-CVE-2026-3442, ROOT-OS-ALPINE-321-CVE-2026-3442, ROOT-OS-ALPINE-322-CVE-2026-3442, ROOT-OS-ALPINE-323-CVE-2026-3442, ROOT-OS-ALPINE-324-CVE-2026-3442, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-3442

## What is CVE-2026-3442?

CVE-2026-3442 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Gnu Binutils, published on 15 Mar 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

A flaw was found in GNU Binutils. This vulnerability, a heap-based buffer overflow, specifically an out-of-bounds read, exists in the bfd linker component. An attacker could exploit this by convincing a user to process a specially crafted malicious XCOFF object file. Successful exploitation may lead to the disclosure of sensitive information or cause the application to crash, resulting in an application level denial of service.

Weakness: CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-3442?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Gnu Binutils, Redhat Enterprise Linux, Redhat Openshift Container Platform.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-3442?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-3442 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-3442 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Gnu Binutils

- [CVE-2017-7614](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-7614/): Null dereference in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2014-9939](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-9939/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-7226](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-7226/): Information disclosure in n/a (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2017-6969](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-6969/): Information disclosure in n/a (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2020-19726](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-19726/): Denial of service in n/a (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-3442 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-3442 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Gnu Binutils, published on 15 Mar 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-3442 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Gnu Binutils. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-3442/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-3442/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-3442
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-3442
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-3442

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-3442/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.