# CVE-2026-115394: NSA Ghidra uncontrolled memory allocation in BinaryField.read()

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-115394-ghidra-through-12-2-contains-an-uncontrolled-memory-allocation  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-10-22. Updated: 2026-10-22  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-115394 · Severity: medium · CVSS 5.5 · Published 2026-10-22

Ghidra is a software reverse engineering framework used by security analysts and developers. A flaw in how it reads binary database files allows attackers to craft malicious database files that consume excessive memory, crashing the application when a user attempts to import them and preventing legitimate analysis work.

Technologies: [Nsa Ghidra](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/nsa-ghidra). Vendors: [Nsa](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/nsa).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-115394 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-115394 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-115394?** Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 5.5, published 22 October 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Nsa Ghidra through 12.2.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-115394?** No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.

**How is CVE-2026-115394 attacked?** It is attacked with local access, in a software library.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-115394?** Check whether you run Nsa Ghidra at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## Technical details

The vulnerability is an uncontrolled memory allocation flaw in the BinaryField.read() method that fails to validate a 32-bit length field before allocating heap memory. An attacker can craft a GZF-packed database file with an oversized length value to trigger an OutOfMemoryError when PackedDatabase.open() attempts to process it, resulting in application denial of service. The vulnerability requires user interaction (importing a malicious file) and affects Ghidra through version 12.2.

## Affected products

- NSA Ghidra through 12.2

## Timeline

- 2026-10-22: disclosed

## References

- [https://github.com/NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra](https://github.com/NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra)
- [https://github.com/NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra/blob/Ghidra_12.2_build/Ghidra/Framework/DB/src/main/java/db/BinaryField.java](https://github.com/NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra/blob/Ghidra_12.2_build/Ghidra/Framework/DB/src/main/java/db/BinaryField.java)

## Related threats

- [NSA Ghidra resource exhaustion in archive parsing](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-115398-ghidra-before-12-2-contains-a-resource-allocation-without-limits)
- [NSA Ghidra ELF loader denial of service via unvalidated header counts](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-113604-ghidra-10-2-through-12-1-4-contains-a-denial-of-service)