Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system · Redhat
CVE-2018-10534
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 _bfd_XX_bfd_copy_private_bfd_data_common function in peXXigen.c in the Binary File Descriptor (BFD) library (aka libbfd), as distributed in GNU Binutils 2.30, processes a negative Data Directory size with an unbounded loop that increases the value of (external_IMAGE_DEBUG_DIRECTORY) *edd so that the address exceeds its own memory region, resulting in an out-of-bounds memory write, as demonstrated by objcopy copying private info with _bfd_pex64_bfd_copy_private_bfd_data_common in pex64igen.c.
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 confidenceAn unbounded loop vulnerability exists in libbfd's PE processing code (peXXigen.c) where a negative Data Directory size causes the loop to write beyond allocated memory boundaries. This allows out-of-bounds memory writes when objcopy copies private debug information from maliciously crafted PE files.
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
Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system
= 7.0
Enterprise Linux ServerOperating system
= 7.0
Enterprise Linux WorkstationOperating system
= 7.0= 2.30CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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.
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Identify installed binutils versionRun 'objcopy --version' or 'binutils --version' to determine the exact version number installed on the systemAffected if The version is 2.30 exactly, or the version is unknown but the system is RHEL 7.0 which ships with a vulnerable binutils version
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Confirm objcopy binary availabilityRun 'which objcopy' or 'ls -la /usr/bin/objcopy' to verify the objcopy tool from binutils is presentAffected if objcopy is present and the binutils version from step 1 is vulnerable
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Check if PE processing occurs in your environmentReview any automated workflows, scripts, or tools that use objcopy to process PE (Windows executable) files, particularly those that copy private debug informationAffected if objcopy is used to process untrusted PE files, especially with options that copy debug sections (such as '--only-keep-debug' or operations involving debug info)
The environment is affected if binutils version 2.30 is installed (or the system is RHEL 7.0 with its default binutils) AND objcopy is used to process PE files, particularly when copying private debug information from untrusted sources.
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 dataApply the Binutils patch for CVE-2018-10534 which adds proper bounds checking for the Data Directory size before entering the loop. Until patched, avoid using objcopy on untrusted PE files.
Fix this in Enterprise Linux Desktop
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing5.0 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 $4,464.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-10534 — 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-2018-10534 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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