# CVE-2026-81885: radare2 infinite loop in NE relocation parser

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-81885-radare2-is-a-unix-like-reverse-engineering-framework-and-command  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-09-22. Updated: 2026-09-26  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-81885 · Severity: medium · CVSS 5.5 · Published 2026-09-22

radare2 is a reverse engineering framework used to analyze executable programs. A flaw in its NE executable parser allows a specially crafted binary file to trigger an infinite loop that exhausts system memory and CPU, causing the application to hang or crash. An attacker can trigger this by opening a malicious binary file.

Technologies: [Radare2](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/radare2). Vendors: [Radare](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/radare).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-81885 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-81885 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-81885?** Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 5.5, published 22 September 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Radare2 prior to 6.2.0.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-81885?** A patch was published on 2026-09-22: Fixed in version 6.2.0 via commit 93d794c Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2026-81885 attacked?** It is attacked with local access, in a software library.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-81885?** Check whether you run Radare2 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 NE relocation fixup-chain parser in radare2 versions prior to 6.2.0 lacks iteration limits and cycle detection. A crafted NE executable with an in-bounds self-referential relocation entry (where offset points back to itself instead of reaching 0xffff) causes the parser to repeatedly process the same relocation, allocating memory on each iteration. The vulnerability is reachable via the default binary loading process when a crafted NE file is opened.

## Affected products

- radare radare2 prior to 6.2.0

## Timeline

- 2026-07-12: disclosed
- 2026-09-22: patched: Fixed in version 6.2.0 via commit 93d794c

## References

- [https://github.com/radareorg/radare2/commit/93d794caa7c2f08413106255d49546e544c1f9f0](https://github.com/radareorg/radare2/commit/93d794caa7c2f08413106255d49546e544c1f9f0)
- [https://github.com/radareorg/radare2/issues/26225](https://github.com/radareorg/radare2/issues/26225)

## Related threats

- [radare2 command execution via crafted binary format](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-108387-radare2-is-a-unix-like-reverse-engineering-framework-and-command)
- [radare2 is a UNIX-like reverse engineering framework and command-line toolset. Prior to 6.2.0, radare2's binary…](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-81882-radare2-is-a-unix-like-reverse-engineering-framework-and-command)
- [radare2 is a UNIX-like reverse engineering framework and command-line toolset. Prior to 6.2.0, radare2's Mach-O Swift…](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-81881-radare2-is-a-unix-like-reverse-engineering-framework-and-command)
- [radare2 PEF loader denial of service](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-81880-radare2-is-a-unix-like-reverse-engineering-framework-and-command)
- [radare2 heap out-of-bounds read in ELF PN_XNUM handling](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-81879-radare2-is-a-unix-like-reverse-engineering-framework-and-command)