CVE-2026-97041: Go cmd/compile linker flag injection via cgo

Summary

The Go toolchain's compiler and linker (cmd/compile and cmd/link) on ELF platforms can be tricked into passing arbitrary flags to the external host linker when building a malicious package that contains "//go:cgo_*" directives. Commas or a leading "@" in symbol or dynamic linker names let an attacker split those values into extra linker flags or response file arguments.

Written by anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5 from the sources below. Verify against them.

Read the original description

Building a malicious package containing "//go:cgo_*" compiler directives could inject arbitrary flags into the external linker invocation on ELF platforms. The compiler and linker did not reject commas in "//go:cgo_import_dynamic", "//go:cgo_export_dynamic", "//go:cgo_export_static", "//go:cgo_import_static", and "//go:cgo_dynamic_linker" directives, and the linker passed the dynamic linker path using "-Wl,--dynamic-linker,<path>". Furthermore, the two-argument form of "//go:cgo_import_dynamic" (which is permitted in non-cgo Go source files) could overwrite the external symbol name of a symbol already marked for cgo export. A symbol name or dynamic linker path containing a comma or leading "@" could split "-Wl,--export-dynamic-symbol=" or "-Wl,--dynamic-linker," into arbitrary host linker flags or response file arguments. The compiler and linker now reject commas in "//go:cgo_*" symbol and dynamic linker directives, the linker passes "-Wl,--dynamic-linker=<path>", and "cgo_import_dynamic" no longer overwrites symbols exported via "cgo_export_dynamic" or "cgo_export_static".

cve.now Index

10Pcve.now Index 10 of 100 · methodology v3 · provisional

Exploitation?/40Unknown. No CISA SSVC exploitation rating yet
Exposure?/25Unknown. No advisory context yet
Reach10/20Affects Go packages
Severity?/10Unknown. No CVSS score or vendor rating
No patch0/5No signal

What would change the score

Would score about 65 if added to CISA KEV
Would score about 60 if CISA's SSVC rates exploitation active
Would score about 32 if advisories confirm default setups are exposed

How the score works · Rankings

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed version: 1.26.11, 1.27.4.

Check your systems with an agent

Paste this into a coding or ops agent. It checks your systems read-only and reports a table per asset.

Check whether my systems are affected by CVE-2026-97041 (Host linker flag injection via //go:cgo_ directives in cmd/compile and cmd/link), using the cve.now data below.

Rules: work read-only. Do not run exploit code, proof-of-concept scripts or scanners that send attack payloads, and do not change any configuration, package, image or deployment. Report findings only.

What cve.now has for CVE-2026-97041 (entry last updated 2026-11-11):
Affected:
- Go package cmd/compile: fixed in 1.26.11; from 1.27.0-0, fixed in 1.27.4
- Go package cmd/link: fixed in 1.26.11; from 1.27.0-0, fixed in 1.27.4
- Go package toolchain: fixed in 1.26.11; from 1.27.0-0, fixed in 1.27.4
Fixed versions: 1.26.11, 1.27.4.
Setup: unknown whether the bug needs a non-default feature or setting. Check the advisory.
CISA KEV: CVE-2026-97041 is not listed as of cve.now's last read.
This KEV status is for CVE-2026-97041 only. If you also check another CVE, look up its own KEV status; never assume it from this one.

How to check:
- Packages (Go): find every lockfile in each project and run check_stack from the cve.now MCP server on each one. Compare the resolved versions, not the ranges a manifest declares, with the affected versions above. Include transitive dependencies.

Verify against the linked advisories before concluding, and cite the date you read each one:
- https://go.dev/cl/862154
- https://go.dev/issue/82569
- https://groups.google.com/g/golang-announce/c/iY8TY0wWgbM
- https://pkg.go.dev/vuln/GO-2026-6850
Do not conclude an asset is unaffected unless you checked it and the evidence covers both its version and the conditions above. If you could not check something, mark it unknown and say what is missing.

Report a table with one row per asset and these columns: Asset | Version or build | Status (affected, fixed, not applicable, unknown) | Compensating controls | Exposure (internet-facing, internal, none) | Evidence | Next action.

Entry: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-97041
For follow-up questions, use the cve.now MCP server at https://mcp.cve.now/mcp (no authentication), for example get_vulnerability with id CVE-2026-97041.

Timeline

Nov 11, 2026, 3:13 AM UTCCVE published
Nov 11, 2026, 3:20 AM UTCFirst seen by cve.now

Affected versions

cmd/compileGo
fixed in 1.26.11; From 1.27.0-0 · fixed in 1.27.4
cmd/linkGo
fixed in 1.26.11; From 1.27.0-0 · fixed in 1.27.4
toolchainGo
fixed in 1.26.11; From 1.27.0-0 · fixed in 1.27.4

Evidence 6

CVE record · 2

Establishes: The identifier and description.

Record
CVE List · CVE-2026-97041
Record
NVD · CVE-2026-97041

Corrections

None so far.

Something wrong on this page? Report an error. Every fix is listed here.

Questions about CVE-2026-97041

Is CVE-2026-97041 being exploited?

It is not in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, and CISA's SSVC assessment does not mark exploitation as active. That does not mean it has not been attacked: vendors and researchers can report attacks before CISA lists them. No public exploit code is tracked.Source: cve.now feed data

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-97041?

cmd/compile (Go): before 1.26.11; from 1.27.0-0 before 1.27.4. cmd/link (Go): before 1.26.11; from 1.27.0-0 before 1.27.4. toolchain (Go): before 1.26.11; from 1.27.0-0 before 1.27.4.Source: cve.now feed data

How do I fix CVE-2026-97041?

Upgrade to a fixed version: 1.26.11, 1.27.4.Source: cve.now feed data

Host linker flag injection via //go:cgo_ directives in cmd/compile and cmd/link