# CVE-2026-4946: NSA Ghidra Auto-Analysis Annotation Command Execution

> Attackers can execute arbitrary commands on an analyst's machine by crafting a binary with malicious auto-analysis annotations that trigger when clicked in the UI.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 29 Mar 2026
- **Updated:** 30 Mar 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-3wfw-pwxc-r3x9, GHSA-mc3p-mq2p-xw6v

## What is CVE-2026-4946?

CVE-2026-4946 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in NSA Ghidra, published on 29 Mar 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Ghidra versions prior to 12.0.3 improperly process annotation directives embedded in automatically extracted binary data, resulting in arbitrary command execution when an analyst interacts with the UI. Specifically, the @execute annotation (which is intended for trusted, user-authored comments) is also parsed in comments generated during auto-analysis (such as CFStrings in Mach-O binaries). This allows a crafted binary to present seemingly benign clickable text which, when clicked, executes attacker-controlled commands on the analyst’s machine.

Weakness: CWE-78 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-4946?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Nsa Ghidra.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-4946?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-4946 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-4946 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-4946 exists.

## Other vulnerabilities in NSA Ghidra

- [CVE-2023-22671](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-22671/): Command injection in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2019-16941](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16941/): XML external entity in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2019-13625](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-13625/): XML external entity in n/a (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2026-49498](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-49498/): Ghidra 11.0 < 12.1 - SQL Injection in PostgreSQL Password Change via Unescaped Username (high 8.7)
- [CVE-2026-52754](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-52754/): Ghidra < 12.1 - Authentication Bypass via Null Signature in PKIAuthenticationModule (high 8.7)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-4946 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-4946 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in NSA Ghidra, published on 29 Mar 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-4946 exists.

Affected product: NSA Ghidra. 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-2026-4946/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-4946/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-4946
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-4946
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-4946

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-4946/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.