popt ConfigFileToString Realloc Heap Corruption (CVE-2026-18743)
CVE-2026-18743 Published on September 1, 2026

Popt-devel: popt-static: short realloc in poptconfigfiletostring
A flaw was found in popt. This vulnerability allows an attacker to provide specially crafted configuration content to a host, which, when loaded, can lead to a small memory corruption issue. This occurs because of an error in how the `poptConfigFileToString` function reallocates memory for buffers. Successful exploitation could result in heap metadata corruption, potentially causing the affected process to become unavailable (denial of service).

NVD

Vulnerability Analysis

CVE-2026-18743 can be exploited with local system access, and requires small amount of user privileges. This vulnerability is consided to have a high level of attack complexity. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to have no impact on confidentiality and integrity, and a small impact on availability.

Attack Vector:
LOCAL
Attack Complexity:
HIGH
Privileges Required:
LOW
User Interaction:
NONE
Scope:
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality Impact:
NONE
Integrity Impact:
NONE
Availability Impact:
LOW

Timeline

Reported to Red Hat.

Made public.

Weakness Type

Incorrect Calculation of Buffer Size

The software does not correctly calculate the size to be used when allocating a buffer, which could lead to a buffer overflow.


Products Associated with CVE-2026-18743

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Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
 
Red Hat Hummingbird
 
Red Hat Openshift
 

Affected Versions

rpm-software-management popt: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9: Red Hat Hardened Images: Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4: