CVE-2018-20651
5.5 · MEDIUMOverview
CVE-2018-20651 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting gnu binutils. It was published on January 1, 2019 and has a CVSS 3.0 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.0 base score of 5.5, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
Technical Description
A NULL pointer dereference was discovered in elf_link_add_object_symbols in elflink.c in the Binary File Descriptor (BFD) library (aka libbfd), as distributed in GNU Binutils 2.31.1. This occurs for a crafted ET_DYN with no program headers. A specially crafted ELF file allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service, as demonstrated by ld.
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from gnu. Update binutils to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
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References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2018-20651?
CVE-2018-20651 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting gnu binutils. It was published on January 1, 2019 and has a CVSS 3.0 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).
How severe is CVE-2018-20651?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.0 base score of 5.5, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2018-20651?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from gnu. Update binutils to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2018-20651?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2018-20651 across your infrastructure using autonomous pentesting, DAST scanning, and HackBrowser. The platform continuously monitors for known vulnerabilities and provides actionable remediation guidance prioritized by real-world exploitability.
How CyberStrike Helps
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