libiberty: integer overflow, leading to heap-buffer overflow by processing certain file headers via bfd binary
Published Sep 5, 2012
5.0
MEDIUMCVSS 2.0
EPSS 3.63%
Description
Multiple integer overflows in the (1) _objalloc_alloc function in objalloc.c and (2) objalloc_alloc macro in include/objalloc.h in GNU libiberty, as used by binutils 2.22, allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via vectors related to the "addition of CHUNK_HEADER_SIZE to the length," which triggers a heap-based buffer overflow.
Affected products
No data.
Configuration 2
- 10.04
- 12.04
- 14.04
- 14.10
Configuration 3
- 7.0
No data.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
binutils
Under investigation
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
binutils220
Under investigation
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
compat-gcc-295
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
compat-gcc-296
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
compat-gcc-32
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
compat-gcc-34
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
crash
Under investigation
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
gcc
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
gcc44
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
gdb
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
binutils
Under investigation
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
compat-gcc-295
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
compat-gcc-296
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
compat-gcc-32
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
compat-gcc-34
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
crash
Under investigation
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
gcc
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
gdb
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
mingw32-binutils
Under investigation
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
mingw32-gcc
Not affected
| Product | Package | State | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | binutils | Under investigation | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | binutils220 | Under investigation | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | compat-gcc-295 | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | compat-gcc-296 | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | compat-gcc-32 | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | compat-gcc-34 | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | crash | Under investigation | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | gcc | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | gcc44 | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | gdb | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | binutils | Under investigation | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | compat-gcc-295 | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | compat-gcc-296 | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | compat-gcc-32 | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | compat-gcc-34 | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | crash | Under investigation | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | gcc | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | gdb | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | mingw32-binutils | Under investigation | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | mingw32-gcc | Not affected | n/a |
No package ranges for this CVE.
Remediation
Red Hat statement
The versions of the gdb package, as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 and 6 are vulnerable to the original libiberty integer overflow flaw. But due the way of subsequent processing of the previously insufficiently pre-allocated libiberty buffer within gdb code, the impact of this issue is limited to crash only. Red Hat Security Response Team does not consider crash of end-user application, such as gdb, to be a security flaw.
Metrics
No CVSS v4.0 score for this CVE.
No CVSS v3.1 score for this CVE.
No CVSS v3.0 score for this CVE.
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
This CVE is not in the KEV list.
No CISA SSVC assessment for this CVE yet.
Estimated probability of exploitation in the wild in the next 30 days (FIRST EPSS). As of Oct 1, 2026.
Score over time
2022–2026- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Percentile over time
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Table of values (9 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | 3.63% (0.03632) | 89.18th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 15, 2026 | 3.60% (0.03602) | 87.94th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Mar 17, 2025 | 2.20% (0.02198) | 83.27th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Dec 12, 2024 | 2.30% (0.02302) | 90.09th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 2.30% (0.02302) | 87.94th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 6, 2023 | 1.41% (0.01408) | 72.89th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Mar 2, 2023 | 1.41% (0.01408) | 72.88th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Apr 1, 2022 | 1.41% (0.01408) | 70.87th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 4, 2022 | 1.41% (0.01408) | 49.94th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
References (12)
- http://gcc.gnu.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=54411 x_refsource_MISCIssue Tracking
- http://gcc.gnu.org/ml/gcc-patches/2012-08/msg01986.html mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTPatchVendor Advisory
- http://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2012-3509 x_refsource_MISCIssue TrackingThird Party Advisory
- http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2015:029 vendor-advisoryx_refsource_MANDRIVABroken Link
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2012/08/29/3 mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTMailing ListThird Party Advisory
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/55281 vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
- http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2496-1 vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTUThird Party Advisory
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2012-3509 Vendor Advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=849693 Issue Tracking
- https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/78135 vdb-entryx_refsource_XFThird Party Advisory
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-3509
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2012-3509
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.