CVE-2026-4424
Published: 19 March 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-4424 is a high-severity Out-of-bounds Read (CWE-125) vulnerability in Redhat Enterprise Linux. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 23.5th 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 RA-5 (Vulnerability Monitoring and Scanning) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation).
Deeper analysis
CVE-2026-4424 is a heap out-of-bounds read vulnerability in libarchive, specifically within the RAR archive processing logic. The flaw arises from improper validation of the LZSS sliding window size following transitions between compression methods. This issue, published on 2026-03-19, carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N) and is classified under CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read).
A remote attacker can exploit this vulnerability by providing a specially crafted RAR archive, without requiring authentication or user interaction. Successful exploitation leads to the disclosure of sensitive heap memory information, enabling potential information leakage from affected systems processing the malicious archive.
Red Hat has issued multiple errata addressing this vulnerability in their products, including RHSA-2026:10065, RHSA-2026:10097, RHSA-2026:11768, RHSA-2026:8492, and RHSA-2026:8510, which provide updated packages with mitigation through patches to libarchive.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-13097
Vulnerability details
A flaw was found in libarchive. This heap out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists in the RAR archive processing logic due to improper validation of the LZSS sliding window size after transitions between compression methods. A remote attacker can exploit this by…
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providing a specially crafted RAR archive, leading to the disclosure of sensitive heap memory information without requiring authentication or user interaction.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Remote unauthenticated exploitation of a public-facing application via crafted RAR input to libarchive directly enables information disclosure from heap memory.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
SI-2 mandates timely identification, reporting, and correction of software flaws like the heap out-of-bounds read in libarchive's RAR processing, directly preventing exploitation via crafted archives.
RA-5 requires vulnerability scanning to identify systems running vulnerable versions of libarchive affected by CVE-2026-4424, enabling proactive patching.
SI-16 implements memory protections such as ASLR and heap guards that mitigate heap out-of-bounds reads by randomizing memory layout and detecting corruption attempts.