Description
A stack buffer overflow in the GDB client's remote protocol handler allows an attacker-controlled debug target to execute arbitrary code in the GDB process. The vulnerability exists in fetch_register_using_p, which decodes a stub's register reply into an alloca-sized buffer without bounding writes by the register width.
Published: 2026-11-05
Score: 8.8 High
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
AI Analysis

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Remediation

Vendor Workaround

There is no mitigation for this vulnerability. Users should only connect GDB to trusted debug targets. --- CME Mitigation Guidance (2026-11-06) --- Disclaimer: The following mitigation solutions are provided as a courtesy, pending the application of an official patch. This content was generated utilizing AI tools in conjunction with data from https://cmetaxonomy.org. Customers are advised to independently evaluate and test these temporary mitigations within their own infrastructure. The highest-value action is to enforce bounds checking against register size when decoding remote serial protocol register replies in the GDB client remote protocol handler: upgrade to the corresponding fixed Red Hat builds, which bounds RSP register reply decoding to the allocated register size rather than terminating only on NUL bytes, closing all 2 injection vectors (oversized RSP register reply, truncated RSP register reply stack disclosure). Until patched, this is a concern on Linux systems running GDB clients connecting to remote RSP debug targets, so Only connect the GDB client to known, trusted debug targets and avoid attaching to unverified or hostile remote RSP stubs. As a compensating measure, Enforce SELinux in enforcing mode to confine the actions of a compromised GDB process, Deploy an EDR agent to detect anomalous process behavior and post-exploitation payloads spawned from GDB, Monitor kernel syscall activity via eBPF to detect unexpected commands or shells spawned by the GDB client, Enable Address Space Layout Randomization to randomize userspace memory addresses, and Enable the NX/XD bit to block direct shellcode execution from stack memory. These controls limit blast radius and contain exploitation, but they do not fix the underlying stack buffer overflow defect — apply the upstream patch to fully remediate. Highest-impact CME: CME-301 SELinux (Enforcing Mode) (medium)

Tracking

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History

Fri, 06 Nov 2026 19:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Fri, 06 Nov 2026 08:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Red Hat
Red Hat enterprise Linux
Redhat hardened Images
Vendors & Products Red Hat
Red Hat enterprise Linux
Redhat hardened Images

Fri, 06 Nov 2026 00:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

threat_severity

Important


Thu, 05 Nov 2026 16:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description A stack buffer overflow in the GDB client's remote protocol handler allows an attacker-controlled debug target to execute arbitrary code in the GDB process. The vulnerability exists in fetch_register_using_p, which decodes a stub's register reply into an alloca-sized buffer without bounding writes by the register width.
Title Gdb: gdb: stack buffer overflow in fetch_register_using_p via unchecked p-reply length
First Time appeared Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux
Redhat hummingbird
Redhat rhel Els
Weaknesses CWE-121
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:10
cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:8
cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:9
cpe:/a:redhat:hummingbird:1
cpe:/o:redhat:rhel_els:6
cpe:/o:redhat:rhel_els:7
Vendors & Products Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux
Redhat hummingbird
Redhat rhel Els
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 8.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}


Subscriptions

Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Redhat Enterprise Linux Hardened Images Hummingbird Rhel Els
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: redhat

Published:

Updated: 2026-11-06T19:55:31.918Z

Reserved: 2026-11-04T13:28:12.838Z

Link: CVE-2026-121994

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-11-05T19:02:04.806Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Awaiting Analysis

Published: 2026-11-05T17:18:00.503

Modified: 2026-11-06T05:18:23.807

Link: CVE-2026-121994

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Important

Publid Date: 2026-11-05T14:25:22Z

Links: CVE-2026-121994 - Bugzilla

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-11-06T08:15:17Z

Weaknesses