NULL pointer dereference in GNU Binutils
CVE-2018-18606
An issue was discovered in the merge_strings function in merge.c in the Binary File Descriptor (BFD) library (aka libbfd), as distributed in GNU Binutils 2.31. There is a NULL pointer dereference in _bfd_add_merge_section when attempting to merge sections with large alignments. A specially crafted ELF allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service, as demonstrated by ld.
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 5.5 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.023 (82.8th percentile), scored .
Low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, but still tracked. 83rd percentile — 82.8% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.023 · newest: 0.023 · change: 0.000
Affected products
- GNU Binutils — versions 2.31
- NetApp Data Ontap
- Debian Linux — versions 7.0, 8.0, 9.0
Weakness classification (CWE)
Public proof-of-concept exploits
References
- www.securityfocus.com/bid/105754 (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, vdb-entry)
- security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20190307-0003/ (Third Party Advisory)
- sourceware.org/git/gitweb.cgi
- sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi (Exploit, Third Party Advisory, Issue Tracking)
- lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-10/msg00072.html (vendor-advisory)
- lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-11/msg00008.html (vendor-advisory)
- usn.ubuntu.com/4336-1/ (vendor-advisory)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2018-18606?
- CVE-2018-18606 is a medium-severity vulnerability in GNU Binutils, classified under NULL Pointer Dereference. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2018-10-23.
- How severe is CVE-2018-18606?
- Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.
- Is CVE-2018-18606 known to be exploited?
- 2 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.