# CVE-2026-44778: Inspektor Gadget: Unprivileged container can crash USDT note parser via crafted ELF

> An unprivileged container can crash the privileged Inspektor Gadget process via a crafted ELF binary when using custom USDT gadgets.

- **Severity:** Low 2.9 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 15 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 17 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-7cfq-5mhv-jrp9, GO-2026-5214

## What is CVE-2026-44778?

CVE-2026-44778 is a low-severity denial of service vulnerability in inspektor-gadget, published on 15 Sep 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Inspektor Gadget is a set of tools and framework for data collection and system inspection on Kubernetes clusters and Linux hosts using eBPF. From 0.28.0 until 0.53.1, the USDT note parser in pkg/uprobetracer/usdt.go can allow an unprivileged container to crash or exhaust the memory of the privileged Inspektor Gadget process when a custom gadget containing a SEC("usdt/...") eBPF section attaches to a crafted ELF binary. The getUsdtInfo() function reads the .note.stapsdt section without validating that DescSize is large enough for three address fields, allowing an out-of-bounds slice operation to panic, and it uses untrusted NameSize and DescSize values for allocations that can consume gigabytes of memory. The parser also invokes debug/elf without panic recovery, allowing other malformed ELF structures to terminate the process. No gadget shipped by Inspektor Gadget uses USDT probes, so only deployments using custom USDT gadgets are affected, and the demonstrated impact is denial of service rather than code execution or privilege escalation. This issue is fixed in version 0.53.1.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-44778?

3 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/inspektor-gadget/inspektor-gadget.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `github.com/inspektor-gadget/inspektor-gadget` | Go | From 0.28.0 | 0.53.1 |
| `github.com/inspektor-gadget/inspektor-gadget` | Go | From 0.28.0 | 0.53.1 |
| `github.com/inspektor-gadget/inspektor-gadget` | Go | From 0.28.0 | 0.53.1 |

## How do I fix CVE-2026-44778?

Upgrade github.com/inspektor-gadget/inspektor-gadget to 0.53.1 or later.

## Is CVE-2026-44778 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-44778 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-44778 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-44778 is a low-severity denial of service vulnerability in inspektor-gadget, published on 15 Sep 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-44778 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- github.com/inspektor-gadget/inspektor-gadget (Go): affected from 0.28.0; fixed in 0.53.1
- github.com/inspektor-gadget/inspektor-gadget (Go): affected from 0.28.0; fixed in 0.53.1
- github.com/inspektor-gadget/inspektor-gadget (Go): affected from 0.28.0; fixed in 0.53.1

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-2026-44778/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-44778/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-44778
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-44778
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-44778

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-44778/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.