GNU binutils up to 2.29 libbfd section.c bfd_make_section_with_flags null pointer dereference

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
5.5	$0-$5k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability labeled as problematic has been found in GNU binutils up to 2.29. Affected by this issue is the function bfd_make_section_with_flags of the file section.c of the component libbfd. Executing a manipulation can lead to null pointer dereference. This vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2017-12457. The attack is restricted to local execution. No exploit exists.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as problematic was found in GNU binutils up to 2.29 (Programming Tool Software). This vulnerability affects the function bfd_make_section_with_flags of the file section.c of the component libbfd. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a null pointer dereference vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-476. A NULL pointer dereference occurs when the application dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid, but is NULL, typically causing a crash or exit. As an impact it is known to affect availability. CVE summarizes:

The bfd_make_section_with_flags function in section.c in the Binary File Descriptor (BFD) library (aka libbfd), as distributed in GNU Binutils 2.29 and earlier, allows remote attackers to cause a NULL dereference via a crafted file.

The bug was discovered 07/26/2017. The weakness was disclosed 08/04/2017 (Website). The advisory is available at sourceware.org. This vulnerability was named CVE-2017-12457 since 08/04/2017. The attack can be initiated remotely. No form of authentication is required for a successful exploitation. Successful exploitation requires user interaction by the victim. Technical details are known, but there is no available exploit.

The vulnerability was handled as a non-public zero-day exploit for at least 9 days. During that time the estimated underground price was around $0-$5k. The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 220400 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2017-12457), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment. The commercial vulnerability scanner Qualys is able to test this issue with plugin 277638 (Fedora Security Update for binutils (FEDORA-2019-ba3cbcfd20)).

There is no information about possible countermeasures known. It may be suggested to replace the affected object with an alternative product.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (220400) and SecurityFocus (BID 100499†). The entries VDB-104833, VDB-104834, VDB-104835 and VDB-104836 are pretty similar. If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.

Productinfo

Type

• Programming Tool Software

Vendor

• GNU

Name

• binutils

Version

• 2.0
• 2.1
• 2.2
• 2.3
• 2.4
• 2.5
• 2.6
• 2.7
• 2.8
• 2.9
• 2.10
• 2.11
• 2.12
• 2.13
• 2.14
• 2.15
• 2.16
• 2.17
• 2.18
• 2.19
• 2.20
• 2.21
• 2.22
• 2.23
• 2.24
• 2.25
• 2.26
• 2.27
• 2.28
• 2.29

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.gnu.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔍
• 🔍
• 🔍

CPE 2.2info

• 🔍
• 🔍
• 🔍

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 5.5
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 5.5

VulDB Base Score: 3.3
VulDB Temp Score: 3.3
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 7.8
NVD Vector: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
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💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
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Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
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VulDB Base Score: 🔍
VulDB Temp Score: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Null pointer dereference
CWE: CWE-476 / CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔍
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Nessus ID: 220400
Nessus Name: Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2017-12457

Qualys ID: 🔍
Qualys Name: 🔍

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: no mitigation known
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔍

Timelineinfo

07/26/2017 🔍
08/04/2017 +9 days 🔍
08/04/2017 +0 days 🔍
08/04/2017 +0 days 🔍
08/05/2017 +1 days 🔍
08/27/2017 +22 days 🔍
03/05/2025 +2746 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: gnu.org

Advisory: sourceware.org
Researcher: Nick Clifton
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2017-12457 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2017-12457
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-104842
SecurityFocus: 100499 - GNU Binutils CVE-2017-13710 Remote Denial of Service Vulnerability

See also: 🔍

Entryinfo

Created: 08/05/2017 20:14
Updated: 03/05/2025 00:38
Changes: 08/05/2017 20:14 (64), 11/03/2019 17:33 (3), 01/07/2021 11:32 (2), 03/05/2025 00:38 (16)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.

Discussion

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