#VU11310 NULL pointer dereference in Binutils - CVE-2018-7642

Vulnerability identifier: #VU11310

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 5.5 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2018-7642

CWE-ID: CWE-476

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
Binutils
Universal components / Libraries / Libraries used by multiple products

Vendor: GNU

Description
The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to cause DoS condition on the target system.

The weakness exists due to improper bounds checking when using the swap_std_reloc_in function, as defined in the aoutx.h source code file in the Binary File Descriptor (BFD) library. A remote attacker can submit a specially crafted ELF file, trigger NULL pointer dereference and cause the service to crash.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Binutils: 2.30

---

External links
https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=22887

---

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.