#VU38982 Out-of-bounds read in Binutils - CVE-2017-9041

Vulnerability identifier: #VU38982

Vulnerability risk: Medium

CVSSv4.0: 4 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Green]

CVE-ID: CVE-2017-9041

CWE-ID: CWE-125

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: No

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

Vendor: GNU

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

The vulnerability exists due to a boundary error in GNU Binutils 2.28. A remote attacker can perform a denial of service (heap-based buffer over-read and application crash) via a crafted ELF file, related to MIPS GOT mishandling in the process_mips_specific function in readelf.c.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Binutils: 2.28

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External links
https://www.securityfocus.com/bid/98598
https://blogs.gentoo.org/ago/2017/05/12/binutils-multiple-crashes/
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201709-02
https://sourceware.org/git/gitweb.cgi?p=binutils-gdb.git;h=75ec1fdbb797a389e4fe4aaf2e15358a070dcc19
https://sourceware.org/git/gitweb.cgi?p=binutils-gdb.git;h=c4ab9505b53cdc899506ed421fddb7e1f8faf7a3

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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.