CVE intelligence and bounded remediation
CVE-2017-12448 — Gnu Binutils security vulnerability
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.
- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.8 (3.0)
- Published
- 2017-08-04
- CISA KEV
- Not currently listed
- Ecosystem
- software/application
- Weaknesses
- CWE-416
Affected products
- gnu / binutils
Matched remediation archetype
Use-after-free, double free, and expired resource use
This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.
Check exposure
- Trace ownership, references, callbacks, asynchronous tasks, and teardown paths around the affected object or resource.
- Identify reachable inputs and timing or state transitions that can release the object while references remain.
- Confirm affected builds, allocators, feature flags, architectures, and process privileges.
Remediate safely
- Apply the maintained ownership or lifetime fix and rebuild all artifacts containing the affected native code.
- Use explicit ownership, safe reference management, cancellation and join semantics, and idempotent teardown.
- Add deterministic lifetime tests plus isolated sanitizer and concurrency coverage for shutdown and error paths.
Authoritative sources
Complete CVE record and remediation plan
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