Multiple vulnerabilities in GNU Binutils

Published: 2021-04-29 | Updated: 2023-01-22

Risk	High
Patch available	YES
Number of vulnerabilities	3
CVE-ID	CVE-2021-20284 CVE-2021-20197 CVE-2021-20294
CWE-ID	CWE-122 CWE-61 CWE-787
Exploitation vector	Network
Public exploit	Public exploit code for vulnerability #3 is available.
Vulnerable software	Binutils Universal components / Libraries / Libraries used by multiple products
Vendor	GNU

Security Bulletin

This security bulletin contains information about 3 vulnerabilities.

1) Heap-based buffer overflow

EUVDB-ID: #VU66493

Risk: High

CVSSv4.0: 6.1 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Amber]

CVE-ID: CVE-2021-20284

CWE-ID: CWE-122 - Heap-based Buffer Overflow

Exploit availability: No

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the target system.

The vulnerability exists due to a boundary error within the _bfd_elf_slurp_secondary_reloc_section() function in elf.c. A remote attacker can pass specially crafted data to the application, trigger a heap-based buffer overflow and execute arbitrary code on the target system.

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may result in complete compromise of vulnerable system.

Mitigation

Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Binutils: 2.30 - 2.35.1

CPE2.3

External links

https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1937784
https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=26931
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210521-0010/

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.

2) UNIX symbolic link following

EUVDB-ID: #VU66492

Risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 5.8 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2021-20197

CWE-ID: CWE-61 - UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following

Exploit availability: No

Description

The vulnerability allows a local user to escalate privileges on the system.

The vulnerability exists due to a symlink following issue within the ar, objcopy, strip, ranlib utilities wen writing output. A local user can create a specially crafted symbolic link to a critical file on the system and overwrite it with privileges of the application.

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may result in privilege escalation.

Mitigation

Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Binutils: 2.30 - 2.35.1

CPE2.3

External links

https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1913743
https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=26945
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210528-0009/

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

No. This vulnerability can be exploited locally. The attacker should have authentication credentials and successfully authenticate on the system.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.

3) Out-of-bounds write

EUVDB-ID: #VU66491

Risk: Medium

CVSSv4.0: 6.6 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/U:Green]

CVE-ID: CVE-2021-20294

CWE-ID: CWE-787 - Out-of-bounds write

Exploit availability: Yes

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to compromise vulnerable system.

The vulnerability exists due to a boundary error when processing untrusted input in readelf. A remote attacker can create a specially crafted file, trick the victim into opening it using the affected software, trigger out-of-bounds write and execute arbitrary code on the target system.

Mitigation

Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Binutils: 2.35 - 2.35.1

CPE2.3

External links

https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1943533
https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=26929
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rf4c02775860db415b4955778a131c2795223f61cb8c6a450893651e4@%3Cissues.bookkeeper.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r58af02e294bd07f487e2c64ffc0a29b837db5600e33b6e698b9d696b@%3Cissues.bookkeeper.apache.org%3E
https://sourceware.org/git/?p=binutils-gdb.git;a=patch;h=372dd157272e0674d13372655cc60eaca9c06926

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability. However, proof of concept for this vulnerability is available.