CVE-2026-81880: radare2: Uncontrolled resource consumption in radare2 PEF loader
radare2 is a UNIX-like reverse engineering framework and command-line toolset. Prior to 6.2.0, radare2's Apple Preferred Executable Format loader was vulnerable because the PEF loader accepted relocSecCount values that were not bounded by the number of sections or complete relocation records in the input. The vulnerability is triggered by normal binary-format auto-detection of a small crafted Apple PEF file. The loader could perform up to 268,435,456 relocation-section iterations and repeated buffer operations after record offsets passed the end of the file. This can cause denial of service through excessive CPU consumption and prolonged processing. This issue is fixed in version 6.2.0.
Affected Software
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Upgrade
Upgrade
radare2to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 6.2.0
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is exposed to this issue?
Users of radare2 versions prior to 6.2.0 are exposed when they analyze an attacker-controlled Apple PEF file. The issue is triggered during normal binary-format auto-detection, so the file does not need to be explicitly selected as PEF.
What does an attacker need to exploit it?
An attacker needs to persuade a user to process a small crafted Apple PEF file with radare2. No attacker privileges are required, but user interaction is required to open or analyze the file.
What is the impact of successful exploitation?
Processing the crafted file can cause excessive CPU consumption and prolonged processing, resulting in a denial of service. The provided severity vector indicates no confidentiality or integrity impact.
How can this be remediated?
Upgrade radare2 to version 6.2.0, which fixes the PEF loader's handling of relocSecCount values.