Double Free in Gnu Binutils

CVE-2025-69650

GNU Binutils thru 2.46 readelf contains a double free vulnerability when processing a crafted ELF binary with malformed relocation data. During GOT relocation handling, dump_relocations may return early without initializing the all_relocations array. As a result, process_got_section_contents() may pass an uninitialized r_symbol pointer to free(), leading to a double free and terminating the program with SIGABRT. No evidence of exploitable memory corruption or code execution was observed; the impact is limited to denial of service. NOTE: this is disputed by third parties because the observed behavior occurred only in pre-release code and did not affect any tagged version.

Vulnerability class: Double Free

EPSS: 0.005 (40.1th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.5 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-69650?
CVE-2025-69650 is a high-severity vulnerability in Gnu Binutils, classified under Double Free. CVSS score: 7.5/10. Published 2026-03-06.
How severe is CVE-2025-69650?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.5 out of 10.