Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system · Redhat
CVE-2018-7208
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 · uneditedIn the coff_pointerize_aux function in coffgen.c in the Binary File Descriptor (BFD) library (aka libbfd), as distributed in GNU Binutils 2.30, an index is not validated, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (segmentation fault) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted file, as demonstrated by objcopy of a COFF object.
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 missing index validation in the coff_pointerize_aux function in libbfd (Binutils 2.30) allows out-of-bounds memory access when processing specially crafted COFF object files. The lack of bounds checking on an array index permits attackers to trigger segmentation faults via malformed files processed through objcopy.
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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/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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Check installed binutils versionRun `binutils --version` or `objcopy --version` to determine the version of binutils installed on the systemAffected if The version shown is 2.30 exactly, indicating the unpatched version is in use
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Verify objcopy binary existsRun `which objcopy` or `objcopy --help` to confirm the objcopy utility from binutils is availableAffected if objcopy is present and the binutils version is 2.30, meaning the vulnerable code path exists in libbfd
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Identify COFF file processing activitySearch for COFF object files (.obj, .coff extensions) or check if any build/CI processes use objcopy on COFF-format files using commands like `find . -name "*.obj" -o -name "*.coff"`Affected if COFF files exist in the environment or are processed by build systems using objcopy
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Check for libbfd library versionRun `ldd $(which objcopy)` or check the libbfd.so library file version directly to confirm libbfd version matches the binutils versionAffected if libbfd version reports as 2.30, indicating the vulnerable library is loaded
A system is affected if binutils version 2.30 is installed and objcopy is used to process COFF files from untrusted sources, as the missing index validation in libbfd allows out-of-bounds memory access.
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 to a patched version of GNU Binutils (2.30.1 or later). Until patched, avoid processing COFF files from untrusted sources using objcopy or other BFD-based tools.
Fix this in Enterprise Linux Desktop
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-7208 — 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-2018-7208 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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