CVE-2026-6068
Analyzed Analyzed - Analysis Complete
Heap Use-After-Free in NASM Response File Processing Causes Data Corruption

Publication date: 2026-04-10

Last updated on: 2026-05-26

Assigner: CERT/CC

Description
NASM contains a heap use after free vulnerability in response file (-@) processing where a dangling pointer to freed memory is stored in the global depend_file and later dereferenced, as the response-file buffer is freed before the pointer is used, allowing for data corruption or remote code execution.
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Meta Information
Published
2026-04-10
Last Modified
2026-05-26
Generated
2026-06-16
AI Q&A
2026-04-10
EPSS Evaluated
2026-06-14
NVD
CVE-2026-6068
EUVD
EUVD-2026-21380
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
nasm netwide_assembler 3.02
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-416 The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.
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Compliance Impact

The provided information does not specify any direct impact of the NASM heap use after free vulnerability (CVE-2026-6068) on compliance with common standards and regulations such as GDPR or HIPAA.

Executive Summary

CVE-2026-6068 is a heap use-after-free vulnerability in NASM that occurs during the processing of response files specified with the -@ command-line option.

The vulnerability arises because a pointer to the response-file buffer is stored in a global variable called depend_file without copying the data. After the response-file buffer is freed, depend_file still points to this freed memory.

Later, when the program dereferences depend_file to compare filenames, it accesses memory that has already been freed, leading to a use-after-free condition. This can cause data corruption or unexpected behavior.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can lead to data corruption or unexpected behavior in NASM when processing crafted response files.

Because it is a memory safety issue, it could potentially be exploited to cause crashes or to manipulate program execution, depending on the context in which NASM is used.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability can be detected by running NASM with the response file option (-@) using crafted response files that trigger the heap use-after-free condition.

Using AddressSanitizer (ASan) to run NASM with response files is an effective way to detect the heap-use-after-free error, as ASan will report the memory error with a stack trace.

  • Compile NASM with AddressSanitizer enabled.
  • Run NASM with a crafted response file using the -@ option, for example: nasm -@ response_file
  • Monitor ASan output for heap-use-after-free errors referencing functions like process_respfile() and parse_cmdline().
Mitigation Strategies

To mitigate this vulnerability immediately, avoid using the response file option (-@) with NASM until a patched version is available.

If you must use response files, ensure they are from trusted sources and avoid any untrusted or crafted input that could exploit the heap use-after-free.

Monitor for updates or patches from the NASM project addressing this issue and apply them as soon as they are released.

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