{"cve":"CVE-2026-18220","nvd":{"published":"2026-07-29T11:16:49.097","modified":"2026-07-30T14:15:31.167","status":"Awaiting Analysis","description":"An out-of-bounds write vulnerability was found in the BFD library's DLX ELF backend (bfd/elf32-dlx.c) in GNU binutils. The dlx_rtype_to_howto() function maps ELF relocation types to internal howto structures but fails to perform adequate bounds checking on attacker-controlled relocation type values (via ELF32_R_TYPE(r_info)) before indexing into the dlx_elf_howto_table[] array. The DLX relocation type number space is non-contiguous (basic types 0-6, extended types at 0x10000+), but the default case in the switch statement allows arbitrary index values to reach the array access.\n\nA specially crafted ELF/DLX object file can trigger this out-of-bounds write when processed by any BFD-consuming tool (objdump, readelf, strip, ld, nm, objcopy). The vulnerability has been demonstrated to achieve arbitrary code execution via a File Stream Oriented Programming (FSOP) attack against glibc FILE structures (stderr), redirecting control flow to system().\n\nAttack scenarios include CI/CD pipelines performing automated binary analysis, developer workstations running objdump/readelf on untrusted binaries, automated security scanning or malware analysis tools invoking binutils, and package build systems processing third-party code.\n\nNote: This vulnerability is only exploitable when binutils is built with the DLX backend enabled (typically via --enable-targets=all).","cvss_v4":null,"cvss_v3":{"version":"3.1","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","score":7.8},"cwes":["CWE-787"],"references":["https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-18220","https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2507670"],"products":[],"source":"nvd","synced_at":"2026-10-19T22:46:40.600842820+00:00"},"epss":{"cve":"CVE-2026-18220","score":0.00186,"percentile":0.08216,"date":"2026-10-31"},"kev":null,"osv":[],"attribution":["This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.","EPSS scores: FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System, https://www.first.org/epss","Known exploited vulnerabilities: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","Package advisories: OSV (https://osv.dev), from the GitHub Advisory Database, PyPA, Go, RustSec and other ecosystem databases, under CC-BY 4.0 or CC0","CVE records: the CVE Program's CVE List (https://www.cve.org), under its terms of use (https://www.cve.org/Legal/TermsOfUse). CVE is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation; this product is not affiliated with the CVE Program."]}