GNU Binutils up to 2.39 readelf readelf.c find_section_in_set heap-based overflow

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.
6.5	$0-$5k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, was found in GNU Binutils up to 2.39. The affected element is the function find_section_in_set of the file readelf.c of the component readelf. Such manipulation leads to heap-based overflow. This vulnerability is listed as CVE-2022-44840. There is no available exploit. You should upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in GNU Binutils up to 2.39 (Programming Tool Software) and classified as critical. Affected by this issue is the function find_section_in_set of the file readelf.c of the component readelf. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a heap-based overflow vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-122. A heap overflow condition is a buffer overflow, where the buffer that can be overwritten is allocated in the heap portion of memory, generally meaning that the buffer was allocated using a routine such as malloc(). Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

Heap buffer overflow vulnerability in binutils readelf before 2.40 via function find_section_in_set in file readelf.c.

The weakness was presented 08/23/2023. The advisory is shared for download at sourceware.org. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2022-44840 since 11/07/2022. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 353207 (AlmaLinux 9.6 [TuxCare] Security Update: binutils / binutils-devel / binutils-gold / cross-binutils-aarch64 / etc Multiple Vulnerabilities (ALMALINUX9.6:CLSA-2026:1776430866)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 2.40 eliminates this vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (353207) and EUVD (EUVD-2022-47771). VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

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
• 2.30
• 2.31
• 2.32
• 2.33
• 2.34
• 2.35
• 2.36
• 2.37
• 2.38
• 2.39

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: 6.6
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 6.5

VulDB Base Score: 5.5
VulDB Temp Score: 5.3
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 7.8
NVD Vector: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
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VulDB Base Score: 🔍
VulDB Temp Score: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Heap-based overflow
CWE: CWE-122 / CWE-119
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: Partially

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: 353207
Nessus Name: AlmaLinux 9.6 [TuxCare] Security Update: binutils / binutils-devel / binutils-gold / cross-binutils-aarch64 / etc Multiple Vulnerabilities (ALMALINUX9.6:CLSA-2026:1776430866)

Threat Intelligenceinfo

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

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔍

Upgrade: Binutils 2.40

Timelineinfo

11/07/2022 🔍
08/23/2023 +288 days 🔍
08/23/2023 +0 days 🔍
10/01/2026 +1135 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: gnu.org

Advisory: sourceware.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2022-44840 (🔍)

GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2022-44840
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-237848
EUVD: 🔍

Entryinfo

Created: 08/23/2023 11:37
Updated: 10/01/2026 09:55
Changes: 08/23/2023 11:37 (43), 09/16/2023 13:48 (11), 09/25/2026 20:34 (18), 10/01/2026 09:55 (2)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

Discussion

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