Multiple Use-After-Free vulnerabilities were found in the add_archive_element function in ld/ldmain.c of the GNU linker (ld), a component of binutils. The root cause is that plugin_maybe_claim() in ld/plugin.c frees the original BFD object via bfd_close/_bfd_delete_bfd when entry->the_bfd->my_archive == NULL, but the caller retains both the original abfd parameter and a shallow copy (orig_input.the_bfd) as dangling pointers. These dangling pointers are subsequently dereferenced at three distinct locations in add_archive_element: 1. Line ~1442: accessing abfd->my_archive via bfd_usrdata(abfd->my_archive) 2. Line ~1493: multiple accesses to abfd and abfd->my_archive in a conditional check and bfd_get_filename call 3. Line ~1525: dereferencing the shallow copy orig_input.the_bfd->my_archive in trace/verbose logging The vulnerability is triggered when LTO plugins are active (link_info.lto_plugin_active is true) and the input object has abfd->my_archive == NULL, which is a valid state for standalone object files. Red Hat builds binutils with --enable-plugins and --enable-lto, confirming the vulnerable code path is compiled in and reachable. An attacker who can supply a crafted object or archive file to a build process using LTO-enabled linking could exploit this flaw to cause a denial of service (linker crash via segmentation fault). Arbitrary code execution is theoretically possible through heap manipulation but is substantially mitigated by hardening measures including stack protector, FORTIFY_SOURCE, ASLR, and PIE. The attack surface is limited to build-time environments — the linker is a development tool not exposed in production runtime. The most realistic exploitation scenario is a supply chain attack introducing a crafted object file as a build dependency in CI/CD pipelines or development environments.

There are packages installed that are affected by a vulnerability referenced in the following CVE:

  - Multiple Use-After-Free vulnerabilities were found in the add_archive_element function in ld/ldmain.c of
    the GNU linker (ld), a component of binutils. The root cause is that plugin_maybe_claim() in ld/plugin.c
    frees the original BFD object via bfd_close/_bfd_delete_bfd when entry->the_bfd->my_archive == NULL, but
    the caller retains both the original abfd parameter and a shallow copy (orig_input.the_bfd) as dangling
    pointers. These dangling pointers are subsequently dereferenced at three distinct locations in
    add_archive_element: 1. Line ~1442: accessing abfd->my_archive via bfd_usrdata(abfd->my_archive) 2. Line
    ~1493: multiple accesses to abfd and abfd->my_archive in a conditional check and bfd_get_filename call 3.
    Line ~1525: dereferencing the shallow copy orig_input.the_bfd->my_archive in trace/verbose logging The
    vulnerability is triggered when LTO plugins are active (link_info.lto_plugin_active is true) and the input
    object has abfd->my_archive == NULL, which is a valid state for standalone object files. Red Hat builds
    binutils with --enable-plugins and --enable-lto, confirming the vulnerable code path is compiled in and
    reachable. An attacker who can supply a crafted object or archive file to a build process using LTO-
    enabled linking could exploit this flaw to cause a denial of service (linker crash via segmentation
    fault). Arbitrary code execution is theoretically possible through heap manipulation but is substantially
    mitigated by hardening measures including stack protector, FORTIFY_SOURCE, ASLR, and PIE. The attack
    surface is limited to build-time environments — the linker is a development tool not exposed in production
    runtime. The most realistic exploitation scenario is a supply chain attack introducing a crafted object
    file as a build dependency in CI/CD pipelines or development environments. (CVE-2026-19548)

The Linux/Unix host has one or more packages installed that are impacted by a vulnerability without a vendor supplied patch available.

  - Multiple Use-After-Free vulnerabilities were found in the add_archive_element function in ld/ldmain.c of     the GNU linker (ld), a component of binutils. The root cause is that plugin_maybe_claim() in ld/plugin.c     frees the original BFD object via bfd_close/_bfd_delete_bfd when entry->the_bfd->my_archive == NULL, but     the caller retains both the original abfd parameter and a shallow copy (orig_input.the_bfd) as dangling     pointers. These dangling pointers are subsequently dereferenced at three distinct locations in     add_archive_element: 1. Line ~1442: accessing abfd->my_archive via bfd_usrdata(abfd->my_archive) 2. Line     ~1493: multiple accesses to abfd and abfd->my_archive in a conditional check and bfd_get_filename call 3.
    Line ~1525: dereferencing the shallow copy orig_input.the_bfd->my_archive in trace/verbose logging The     vulnerability is triggered when LTO plugins are active (link_info.lto_plugin_active is true) and the input     object has abfd->my_archive == NULL, which is a valid state for standalone object files. Red Hat builds     binutils with --enable-plugins and --enable-lto, confirming the vulnerable code path is compiled in and     reachable. An attacker who can supply a crafted object or archive file to a build process using LTO-     enabled linking could exploit this flaw to cause a denial of service (linker crash via segmentation     fault). Arbitrary code execution is theoretically possible through heap manipulation but is substantially     mitigated by hardening measures including stack protector, FORTIFY_SOURCE, ASLR, and PIE. The attack     surface is limited to build-time environments  the linker is a development tool not exposed in production     runtime. The most realistic exploitation scenario is a supply chain attack introducing a crafted object     file as a build dependency in CI/CD pipelines or development environments. (CVE-2026-19548)

Note that Nessus relies on the presence of the package as reported by the vendor.

ID	Name	Product	Family	Type	Severity
464862	Echo: binutils: security update to 2.45.90.20260201+really2.45.50.20251201-1+e10	Tenable Cloud Security	Echo Local Security Checks	Local	medium
464862	Echo: binutils: security update to 2.45.90.20260201+really2.45.50.20251201-1+e10	Tenable Self-Hosted Container Security	Echo Local Security Checks	Local	medium
334929	Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-19548	Nessus	Misc.	Local	medium

Detections

Analytics

CVE-2026-19548

medium

Tenable Plugins

medium

medium

medium