#VU37959 Buffer overflow in Binutils - CVE-2017-16827

Vulnerability identifier: #VU37959

Vulnerability 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-2017-16827

CWE-ID: CWE-119

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 non-authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code.

The aout_get_external_symbols function in aoutx.h in the Binary File Descriptor (BFD) library (aka libbfd), as distributed in GNU Binutils 2.29.1, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (slurp_symtab invalid free and application crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted ELF file.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Binutils: 2.29.1

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External links
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201811-17
https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=22306
https://sourceware.org/git/gitweb.cgi?p=binutils-gdb.git;h=0301ce1486b1450f219202677f30d0fa97335419

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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.