CVE-2026-81885
Received Received - Intake

Heap Overflow in radare2 Due to Unbounded NE Relocation Chain Parsing

Publication date: 2026-09-22

Last updated on: 2026-09-22

Assigner: GitHub, Inc.

Description
radare2 is a UNIX-like reverse engineering framework and command-line toolset. Prior to 6.2.0, radare2's NE relocation fixup-chain parser was vulnerable because the NE relocation parser followed fixup chains without an active iteration limit or cycle detection. The vulnerability is triggered by opening a crafted NE executable whose in-bounds relocation entry points back to itself instead of reaching 0xffff. The parser repeatedly processed the same relocation and allocated another relocation object on each iteration. This can cause denial of service through continuous CPU and memory consumption. This issue is fixed in version 6.2.0.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-09-22
Last Modified
2026-09-22
Generated
2026-09-22
AI Q&A
2026-09-22
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-81885
EUVD
EUVD-2026-84471

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 3 associated CPEs
Vendor Product Version / Range
radareorg radare2 to 6.1.8 (inc)
radareorg radare2 6.2.0
radare2 radare2 to 6.2.0 (exc)

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-835 The product contains an iteration or loop with an exit condition that cannot be reached, i.e., an infinite loop.
CWE-770 The product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any intended restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated.

Attack-Flow Graph

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Executive Summary

CVE-2026-81885 is a denial-of-service vulnerability in radare2's NE (New Executable) relocation parser. The parser follows fixup chains without an iteration limit or cycle detection. A crafted NE executable can exploit this by containing a relocation entry that points back to itself, causing the parser to repeatedly process the same entry without reaching the terminating value (0xffff). Each iteration allocates and appends another relocation object, leading to continuous CPU and memory consumption.

Detection Guidance

To detect this vulnerability, monitor radare2 processes for excessive CPU or memory usage when opening NE executables. Check for infinite loops by analyzing process behavior with tools like top, htop, or ps during file analysis. Ensure radare2 version is updated to 6.2.0 or later to avoid the flaw.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can make radare2 unresponsive and exhaust system resources, resulting in a denial of service. Users opening untrusted NE executables with affected versions may experience system hangs or crashes due to excessive CPU and memory usage.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability primarily causes denial-of-service through excessive CPU and memory consumption, which could disrupt system availability. While not directly violating GDPR or HIPAA, such disruptions may impact data processing operations subject to these regulations, potentially leading to non-compliance if critical systems become unavailable.

Mitigation Strategies

Immediately upgrade radare2 to version 6.2.0 or later to patch the vulnerability. Avoid opening untrusted NE executables with affected versions. Implement system resource limits to restrict CPU and memory usage for radare2 processes as a temporary measure.

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