CVE-2016-2050
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedThe get_abbrev_array_info function in libdwarf-20151114 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds write) via a crafted elf file.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceA vulnerability in the get_abbrev_array_info function in libdwarf-20151114 allows an out-of-bounds write when processing a specially crafted ELF file, leading to potential denial of service.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 2015-11-14CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if libdwarf is installedRun 'dpkg -l | grep libdwarf' (Debian/Ubuntu) or 'rpm -qa | grep libdwarf' (RHEL/CentOS) or check for libdwarf.so files with 'find /usr -name "libdwarf*" 2>/dev/null'Affected if No libdwarf packages or library files are found - the software is not present
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Determine the installed libdwarf versionCheck the library version: 'objdump -p /path/to/libdwarf.so | grep -i version' or look at the package name for version string containing '20151114' or check 'dwarfdump --version' if installedAffected if The version string contains '20151114' or matches exactly the 2015-11-14 release
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Check for applications using libdwarfIdentify programs that link against libdwarf: 'ldd /path/to/binary | grep dwarf' or check common ELF processing tools like 'dwarfdump', 'elfutils', or debuggers that may bundle libdwarfAffected if Applications that process ELF/DWARF files are using the vulnerable libdwarf library
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Audit ELF file processingReview logs or audit trail for processing of untrusted ELF files by applications linked against libdwarf, or monitor file access patterns to DWARF-containing binariesAffected if The system processes untrusted or externally-sourced ELF files using libdwarf-based tools
You are affected if libdwarf version 2015-11-14 is installed and any application on the system processes untrusted or external ELF files using this library.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpdate libdwarf to a patched version beyond 20151114 and ensure that untrusted ELF files are not processed without proper validation.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,328.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-2050 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-2050 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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