CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2017-12448

Use After Free

Published: Aug 04, 2017 | Modified: Apr 20, 2025
CVSS 3.x
7.8
HIGH
Source:
NVD
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS 2.x
6.8 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
RedHat/V2
RedHat/V3
7 MODERATE
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Ubuntu
LOW

The bfd_cache_close function in bfd/cache.c in the Binary File Descriptor (BFD) library (aka libbfd), as distributed in GNU Binutils 2.29 and earlier, allows remote attackers to cause a heap use after free and possibly achieve code execution via a crafted nested archive file. This issue occurs because incorrect functions are called during an attempt to release memory. The issue can be addressed by better input validation in the bfd_generic_archive_p function in bfd/archive.c.

Weakness

The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory “belongs” to the code that operates on the new pointer.

Affected Software

Name Vendor Start Version End Version
Binutils Gnu * 2.29 (including)
Binutils Ubuntu esm-infra-legacy/trusty *
Binutils Ubuntu esm-infra/xenial *
Binutils Ubuntu precise/esm *
Binutils Ubuntu trusty *
Binutils Ubuntu trusty/esm *
Binutils Ubuntu upstream *
Binutils Ubuntu xenial *
Binutils Ubuntu zesty *

Potential Mitigations

References