# CVE-2026-52757: Ghidra < 12.1 - Heap-use-after-free in HighVariable::merge() during decompilation

> Attackers can achieve code execution or cause denial of service by tricking users into opening a malicious binary in Ghidra's decompiler.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.6 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **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:** No
- **Published:** 10 Jun 2026
- **Updated:** 14 Jul 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-8jqp-qv73-395r

## What is CVE-2026-52757?

CVE-2026-52757 is a medium-severity use after free vulnerability in nationalsecurityagency ghidra, published on 10 Jun 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

Ghidra before 12.1 contains a heap-use-after-free vulnerability in the decompiler's HighVariable::merge() function during the variable merging pass. Attackers can trigger this vulnerability by crafting a binary that causes stale pointers in the HighIntersectTest::highedgemap cache to be dereferenced, reading and writing the flags field of freed heap memory when a user opens the binary in Ghidra's decompiler view.

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-52757?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Nsa Ghidra.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-52757?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-52757 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-52757 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-52757 exists.

## Other vulnerabilities in nationalsecurityagency 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-2026-4946](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-4946/): NSA Ghidra Auto-Analysis Annotation Command Execution (high 8.8)
- [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)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-52757 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-52757 is a medium-severity use after free vulnerability in nationalsecurityagency ghidra, published on 10 Jun 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: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-52757 exists.

Affected product: nationalsecurityagency 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-2026-52757/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-52757/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-52757
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-52757
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-52757

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-52757/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.