CVE-2017-13710
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 setup_group function in elf.c in the Binary File Descriptor (BFD) library (aka libbfd), as distributed in GNU Binutils 2.29, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and application crash) via a group section that is too small.
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 confidenceThe setup_group function in libbfd (elf.c) in GNU Binutils 2.29 fails to properly validate the size of group sections before processing them, leading to a NULL pointer dereference when a group section is too small, causing application crash and 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= 2.29CVSS 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
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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.
-
Identify installed Binutils versionRun 'binutils --version' or 'ld --version' to determine the exact version of Binutils installed on the systemAffected if The version displayed is 2.29 exactly (exact match required per affected product specification)
-
Verify libbfd presenceCheck for the presence of libbfd shared library (typically libbfd.so in /usr/lib or /usr/lib64) using 'ls -la /usr/lib/libbfd*' or equivalent pathAffected if libbfd exists and is part of Binutils 2.29 installation
-
Identify tools that use libbfdCommon Binutils utilities that depend on libbfd include 'objcopy', 'objdump', 'readelf', 'nm', and 'size'. Check which of these are in use with 'which objcopy readelf nm'Affected if Any of these tools are present and used to process ELF files
-
Determine if untrusted ELF files are processedReview operational procedures or logs to identify whether the system processes ELF files from untrusted sources (such as user-uploaded binaries, external binaries, or binaries from unknown provenance)Affected if The environment processes ELF files from untrusted or external sources using Binutils 2.29 tools
-
Check for group section processingUse 'readelf -G' or inspect ELF files with 'readelf -S' to see if group sections (.group) are present and processed in any ELF binaries handled by the systemAffected if Group sections in ELF files are processed by Binutils 2.29 tools (this is the specific trigger condition for the vulnerability)
You are affected if Binutils version 2.29 is installed AND your environment processes ELF files containing group sections using tools that rely on libbfd.
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 dataUpgrade to GNU Binutils 2.30 or later which contains the patch for proper bounds validation. Until then, avoid processing untrusted ELF files with vulnerable Binutils versions.
- 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-2017-13710 — 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-2017-13710 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data