CVE-2026-3441
Published: 16 March 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-3441 is a medium-severity Out-of-bounds Read (CWE-125) vulnerability in Redhat Enterprise Linux. Its CVSS base score is 6.1 (Medium).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Malicious File (T1204.002); ranked at the 0.3th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation).
Deeper analysis
CVE-2026-3441 is a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability, specifically an out-of-bounds read, in the bfd linker component of GNU Binutils. This flaw affects GNU Binutils, a collection of binary utilities commonly used for manipulating object files and binaries across various Unix-like systems. Published on 2026-03-16, it is rated with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.1 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:L) and maps to CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read).
An attacker can exploit this vulnerability locally by convincing a user or administrator to process a specially crafted XCOFF object file using affected Binutils tools. No privileges are required (PR:N), but it demands low complexity and user interaction, such as opening or linking the malicious file. Successful exploitation enables high-impact confidentiality violations through access to sensitive information or low-impact application-level denial of service.
For mitigation details, security practitioners should refer to the Red Hat security advisory at https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-3441 and the associated Bugzilla entry at https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2443826, which provide guidance on patches and workarounds.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-12194
Vulnerability details
A flaw was found in GNU Binutils. This heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability, specifically an out-of-bounds read in the bfd linker, allows an attacker to gain access to sensitive information. By convincing a user to process a specially crafted XCOFF object…
more
file, an attacker can trigger this flaw, potentially leading to information disclosure or an application level denial of service.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Vulnerability is triggered locally by tricking a user into processing a crafted malicious XCOFF object file with Binutils tools (e.g., linker), directly enabling user execution via malicious file delivery.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Directly requires timely patching of the bfd linker in GNU Binutils to eliminate the out-of-bounds read before a crafted XCOFF file can be processed.
Mandates validation of all input data, which would block the malformed XCOFF structures that trigger the heap buffer over-read in the linker.
Enforces memory protection mechanisms that can contain or block exploitation of the heap-based out-of-bounds read in Binutils.