binutils: NULL pointer dereference in the scan_unit_for_symbols
Published Sep 29, 2017
5.5
MEDIUMCVSS 3.0
EPSS 1.94%
Description
scan_unit_for_symbols in dwarf2.c in the Binary File Descriptor (BFD) library (aka libbfd), as distributed in GNU Binutils 2.29, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and application crash) via a crafted ELF file.
Affected products
No data.
No data.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
binutils
Will not fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
binutils220
Will not fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
binutils
Will not fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
binutils
Will not fix
| Product | Package | State | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | binutils | Will not fix | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | binutils220 | Will not fix | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | binutils | Will not fix | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | binutils | Will not fix | n/a |
No package ranges for this CVE.
Remediation
No remediation recorded yet.
Metrics
No CVSS v4.0 score for this CVE.
No CVSS v3.1 score for this CVE.
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
1 other source (Red Hat) ▾
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
AV:N/AC:M/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
2021–2026- EPSS v1
- EPSS v5
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
Percentile over time
- EPSS v1
- EPSS v5
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
Table of values (23 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | 1.94% (0.01938) | 79.36th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Sep 22, 2026 | 1.94% (0.01938) | 79.21th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Sep 21, 2026 | 3.45% (0.03449) | 88.48th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Sep 6, 2026 | 1.94% (0.01938) | 78.76th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Sep 5, 2026 | 3.45% (0.03449) | 88.23th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Aug 30, 2026 | 1.94% (0.01938) | 78.65th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Aug 28, 2026 | 3.45% (0.03449) | 88.16th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Aug 24, 2026 | 1.94% (0.01938) | 78.53th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Aug 23, 2026 | 3.45% (0.03449) | 88.11th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 15, 2026 | 1.94% (0.01938) | 77.39th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Mar 17, 2025 | 0.11% (0.00115) | 27.71th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Dec 12, 2024 | 0.17% (0.00166) | 54.64th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| May 24, 2024 | 0.10% (0.00102) | 41.89th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| May 10, 2024 | 0.09% (0.00086) | 36.13th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Apr 25, 2024 | 0.07% (0.00073) | 30.51th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 15, 2024 | 0.07% (0.00066) | 27.29th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Feb 8, 2024 | 0.06% (0.00060) | 22.69th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Sep 3, 2023 | 0.17% (0.00165) | 52.59th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 0.23% (0.00229) | 59.25th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 6, 2023 | 1.14% (0.01136) | 59.45th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 4, 2022 | 1.14% (0.01136) | 34.23th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 3, 2022 | 1.30% (0.01300) | 31.12th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Apr 14, 2021 | 1.30% (0.01300) | 0.00th | v1 |
References (7)
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-14940 Vendor Advisory
- https://blogs.gentoo.org/ago/2017/09/26/binutils-null-pointer-dereference-in-scan_unit_for_symbols-dwarf2-c/ x_refsource_MISCPatchThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1500341 Issue Tracking
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-14940
- https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=22166 x_refsource_MISCIssue TrackingPatchThird Party Advisory
- https://sourceware.org/git/gitweb.cgi?p=binutils-gdb.git%3Bh=0d76029f92182c3682d8be2c833d45bc9a2068fe x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-14940
| Link | Providers | Tags |
|---|---|---|
| https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-14940 | Vendor Advisory | |
| https://blogs.gentoo.org/ago/2017/09/26/binutils-null-pointer-dereference-in-scan_unit_for_symbols-dwarf2-c/ | x_refsource_MISCPatchThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry | |
| https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1500341 | Issue Tracking | |
| https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-14940 | ||
| https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=22166 | x_refsource_MISCIssue TrackingPatchThird Party Advisory | |
| https://sourceware.org/git/gitweb.cgi?p=binutils-gdb.git%3Bh=0d76029f92182c3682d8be2c833d45bc9a2068fe | x_refsource_MISC | |
| https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-14940 |
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.