dbcve.org
Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system · Redhat

CVE-2018-10535

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-04-29
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges

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 · unedited
The ignore_section_sym function in elf.c in the Binary File Descriptor (BFD) library (aka libbfd), as distributed in GNU Binutils 2.30, does not validate the output_section pointer in the case of a symtab entry with a "SECTION" type that has a "0" value, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and application crash) via a crafted file, as demonstrated by objcopy.

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 confidence

A NULL pointer dereference vulnerability exists in libbfd's ignore_section_sym function in elf.c in GNU Binutils 2.30. The function fails to validate the output_section pointer when processing a symtab entry with SECTION type and a 0 value, causing a crash when this unvalidated pointer is dereferenced.

MitigationUpdate Binutils to a version containing the fix for this vulnerability; avoid processing untrusted ELF files with Binutils tools until patched.

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
Affected:= 7.0
Enterprise Linux ServerOperating system
Affected:= 7.0
Enterprise Linux WorkstationOperating system
Affected:= 7.0
BinutilsApplication
Affected:= 2.30

CVSS 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
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed Binutils version
    Run `binutils --version` or `ld --version` to determine the exact version number of Binutils installed on the system
    Affected if The version number is exactly 2.30 or falls within the affected Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.x range (which ships Binutils 2.30 base)
  2. Locate libbfd library
    Search for the libbfd library file (typically libbfd.so) using `find /usr -name 'libbfd*' 2>/dev/null` or check package contents via `rpm -ql binutils` on RHEL systems
    Affected if The libbfd library exists and its version matches the vulnerable Binutils 2.30 release
  3. Verify ELF processing capability is in use
    Determine if any Binutils tools (such as `readelf`, `objdump`, `nm`) are used to process ELF files, particularly those from untrusted sources
    Affected if Users process ELF files using Binutils tools, which invokes the vulnerable libbfd code path in elf.c
  4. Check for symtab entry processing
    Review any custom tooling or scripts that parse ELF symbol tables using libbfd, as the vulnerability triggers when processing symtab entries with SECTION type and a 0 value
    Affected if The environment involves ELF parsing code that could encounter malformed symtab entries with SECTION type and zero value
  5. Confirm affected Red Hat Enterprise Linux version
    Check OS version via `cat /etc/redhat-release` or `hostnamectl`
    Affected if The system runs RHEL Desktop 7.0, RHEL Server 7.0, or RHEL Workstation 7.0 specifically

A system is affected if it runs Binutils 2.30 (or the RHEL 7.x variant containing this version) and processes ELF files using libbfd functions, as the NULL pointer dereference occurs when handling symtab entries with SECTION type and zero value in the ignore_section_sym function.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update Binutils to a version containing the fix for this vulnerability; avoid processing untrusted ELF files with Binutils tools until patched.

Fix this in Enterprise Linux Desktop Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-10535 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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