CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2020-35448 — An issue was discovered in the Binary File Descriptor (BFD) library (aka libbfd), as distributed in GNU Binutils 2.35.1

Medium CVSS 4.3

An issue was discovered in the Binary File Descriptor (BFD) library (aka libbfd), as distributed in GNU Binutils 2.35.1. A heap-based buffer over-read can occur in bfd_getl_signed_32 in libbfd.c because sh_entsize is not validated in _bfd_elf_slurp_secondary_reloc_section in elf.c.

Severity
Medium
CVSS
4.3 (2.0)
Published
2020-12-27
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-125

Affected products

  • gnu / binutils / 2.35.1
  • netapp / ontap_select_deploy_administration_utility

Matched remediation archetype

Buffer bounds, memory safety, and memory corruption

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

Check exposure

  • Identify affected native-code versions, build flags, architectures, parsers, codecs, drivers, and input paths in all shipped artifacts.
  • Determine whether untrusted data reaches the affected routine and the process privilege, sandbox, and network exposure.
  • Confirm statically linked, vendored, firmware, and platform-provided copies, not only package-manager records.

Remediate safely

  • Apply the maintained upstream correction or replace the affected component, then rebuild every dependent artifact from clean inputs.
  • Adopt bounds-checked interfaces, validated sizes and integer conversions, clear ownership, and memory-safe components where practical.
  • Enable supported compiler and runtime hardening and add sanitized tests and fuzz regression seeds derived from non-weaponized fixtures.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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