CVE-2026-16461: rpcbind rpcinfo stack buffer overflow in rpcbdump

CVE-2026-16461 · Severity: medium · CVSS 6.5 · Published 2026-07-21

A security vulnerability exists in the rpcinfo utility, a tool used to query RPC service information on Linux systems. If a user or administrator uses this tool to inspect a malicious or compromised server, the tool may crash or stop responding. This issue primarily affects the reliability of the diagnostic tool when interacting with untrusted network endpoints.

Technologies: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4. Vendors: Red Hat.

Quick answers

Is CVE-2026-16461 exploited in the wild?
No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-16461 being exploited in the wild.
How severe is CVE-2026-16461?
Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 6.5, published 21 July 2026.
Which products and versions are affected?
Red Hat rpcbind 1.2.9 and earlier; Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8; Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9; Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10; and 1 more.
Is there a fix for CVE-2026-16461?
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-2026-16461 attacked?
It is attacked over the network, in a software library.
Am I affected by CVE-2026-16461?
Check whether you run Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 or one of the others listed. 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

A stack-based buffer overflow exists in the rpcbdump() function within rpcbind's rpcinfo utility. The vulnerability is caused by the use of unbounded sprintf() calls when formatting version numbers from a remote RPCBPROC_DUMP reply into a fixed 256-byte stack buffer. An attacker can trigger this by hosting a malicious rpcbind endpoint that returns a large number of distinct version strings for a single program. When a victim runs 'rpcinfo -s' against the attacker's host, the buffer is overflown, leading to a crash or denial of service of the client process. As of the advisory date, the issue remains unpatched in upstream rpcbind 1.2.9.

Affected products

  • Red Hat rpcbind 1.2.9 and earlier
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
  • Red Hat Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

Timeline

  • 2026-07-20: disclosed: Reported via Red Hat Bugzilla
  • 2026-07-21: advisory: NVD publication date

References

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