Gdb: gdb: out-of-bounds write in stabs parser read_member_functions() via crafted elf

Summary

A flaw was found in GDB's STABS debug format parser. The read_member_functions() function in gdb/stabsread.c contains a linked list removal bug in the code that separates destructor and non-destructor member functions of C++ classes. The bug causes the destructor entries to remain in the main function list while the list length counter is decremented, resulting in an out-of-bounds write when the function list is copied to its final allocated array. An attacker can craft an ELF binary with malicious .stab and .stabstr sections that triggers this out-of-bounds write when a user opens the file in GDB and performs any symbol-inspection operation such as setting a breakpoint. The inferior process does not need to be executed. Under controlled conditions, this was demonstrated to achieve execution of arbitrary commands within the GDB process.

Timeline

1. Aug 31, 2026, 7:23 PM UTCCVE published
2. Sep 1, 2026, 2:33 PM UTCCISA SSVC assessment

   Exploitation: none · Automatable: no · Technical impact: total

3. Oct 14, 2026, 7:02 PM UTCRecord last updated

Affected versions

• gdb

  Version range not reported

• gdb

  Version range not reported

• gdb

  Version range not reported

• costmanagement/costmanagement-ui-rhel10

  Version range not reported

• gdb-main

  Version range not reported

• rhui5/cds-kubernetes-rhel9

  Version range not reported

• rhui5/cds-rhel9

  Version range not reported

• rhui5/haproxy-rhel9

  Version range not reported

• rhui5/installer-rhel9

  Version range not reported

• rhui5/rhua-rhel9

  Version range not reported

• gdb

  Version range not reported

• gdb

  Version range not reported

References 8