Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-6845

Memory Safety in Redhat Enterprise Linux 10.0 … 9.0

Memory Safety
Published
22 April 2026
Modified
13 July 2026
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 5.0
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0015 4th percentile
Risk Priority 35 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-6845 is a medium-severity NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476) vulnerability in Redhat Enterprise Linux. Its CVSS base score is 5.0 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Application or System Exploitation (T1499.004); ranked at the 4th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A10:2025 Mishandling of Exceptional Conditions

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A flaw was found in binutils, specifically within the `readelf` utility. This vulnerability allows a local attacker to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) by tricking a user into processing a specially crafted Executable and Linkable Format (ELF) file. The…

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exploitation of this flaw can lead to the system becoming unresponsive due to excessive resource consumption or a program crash.

CWE(s)
CWE-476

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1499.004 Application or System Exploitation Impact
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities that can cause an application or system to crash and deny availability to users.
attack.mitre.org →
Why these techniques?

NULL pointer dereference in readelf enables local DoS via crafted ELF file (application/system exploitation).

Confidence: HIGH · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

Likely ATT&CK TechniquesAI

Techniques this vulnerability likely enables, inferred from its description, weakness type, and attributed-actor tradecraft. Confidence is per-technique.

T1204.002 Malicious File Executionconfidence: HIGH
Requires tricking a user into processing a specially crafted malicious ELF file.
attack.mitre.org →
T1499.004 Application or System Exploitation Impactconfidence: HIGH
Directly enables DoS via application exploitation causing crash or resource exhaustion.
attack.mitre.org →
inferred from description + CWE · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-6844Same product: Gnu Binutils
CVE-2026-1584Same product: Redhat Hardened Images
CVE-2026-5745Same product: Redhat Enterprise Linux
CVE-2026-6846Same product: Gnu Binutils
CVE-2026-3442Same product: Gnu Binutils
CVE-2025-32990Same product: Redhat Enterprise Linux
CVE-2026-6843Same product: Redhat Enterprise Linux
CVE-2025-69649Same product: Gnu Binutils
CVE-2026-4647Same product: Gnu Binutils
CVE-2026-3441Same product: Gnu Binutils

Affected Assets

gnu
binutils
all versions
redhat
hardened images
all versions
redhat
openshift container platform
4.0
redhat
enterprise linux
10.0, 6.0, 7.0, 8.0, 9.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)
  • SI-10 Information Input Validation
  • SI-2 Flaw Remediation
  • AC-6 Least Privilege
Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

—

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match
prevent

Directly mitigates the root cause by enforcing validation of ELF file inputs before readelf processing, preventing the NULL pointer dereference.

SI-2 Flaw Remediation good match
prevent

Requires prompt application of vendor patches that correct the CWE-476 flaw in binutils readelf.

AC-6 Least Privilege partial match
prevent

Limits privileges under which readelf executes, reducing the impact of resource exhaustion or crash from a crafted ELF file.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices (static analysis, code review, safe coding standards) directly prevent NULL dereference bugs during development.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
detects

Security testing can detect NULL dereference defects before release.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure SDLC mandates defensive coding practices that can prevent NULL dereferences.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can specify input validation and pointer-safety rules.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture principles encourage defensive design that avoids unsafe pointer use.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards directly require NULL-pointer checks and safe dereference patterns.

References