#VU59293 Out-of-bounds write in Binutils - CVE-2021-45078

Vulnerability identifier: #VU59293

Vulnerability risk: Medium

CVSSv4.0: 4.8 [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:U/U:Green]

CVE-ID: CVE-2021-45078

CWE-ID: CWE-787

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 compromise the affected system.

The vulnerability exists due to a boundary error in stab_xcoff_builtin_type() function in stabs.c. 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.

Note, the vulnerability exists due to incorrect patch for #VU13471 (CVE-2018-12699).

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Binutils: 2.7 - 2.37

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External links
https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=28694
https://sourceware.org/git/gitweb.cgi?p=binutils-gdb.git;h=161e87d12167b1e36193385485c1f6ce92f74f02
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/UQBH244M5PV6S6UMHUTCVCWFZDX7Y4M6/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/UUHLDDT3HH7YEY6TX7IJRGPJUTNNVEL3/

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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.