binutils: NULL pointer dereference in the process_mips_specific_function
Published May 18, 2017
5.5
MEDIUMCVSS 3.0
EPSS 2.07%
Description
GNU Binutils 2017-04-03 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and application crash), related to the process_mips_specific function in readelf.c, via a crafted ELF file that triggers a large memory-allocation attempt.
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 (19 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | 2.07% (0.02065) | 80.68th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Sep 22, 2026 | 2.07% (0.02065) | 80.54th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Sep 21, 2026 | 3.54% (0.03539) | 88.77th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Sep 6, 2026 | 2.07% (0.02065) | 80.12th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Sep 5, 2026 | 3.54% (0.03539) | 88.52th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Aug 30, 2026 | 2.07% (0.02065) | 80.02th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Aug 28, 2026 | 3.54% (0.03539) | 88.45th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Aug 24, 2026 | 2.07% (0.02065) | 79.91th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Aug 23, 2026 | 3.54% (0.03539) | 88.40th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 15, 2026 | 2.07% (0.02065) | 78.83th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Mar 17, 2025 | 0.15% (0.00154) | 33.61th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Dec 12, 2024 | 0.18% (0.00180) | 56.55th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Nov 8, 2023 | 0.18% (0.00180) | 55.07th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Sep 3, 2023 | 0.16% (0.00160) | 51.97th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 0.17% (0.00169) | 52.11th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 6, 2023 | 1.21% (0.01213) | 66.61th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 4, 2022 | 1.21% (0.01213) | 40.54th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 3, 2022 | 1.62% (0.01623) | 33.90th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Apr 14, 2021 | 1.62% (0.01623) | 0.00th | v1 |
References (8)
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/98579 vdb-entryx_refsource_BID
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-9040 Vendor Advisory
- https://blogs.gentoo.org/ago/2017/05/12/binutils-multiple-crashes/ x_refsource_MISCPatchThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1452169 Issue Tracking
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-9040
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201709-02 vendor-advisoryx_refsource_GENTOO
- https://sourceware.org/git/gitweb.cgi?p=binutils-gdb.git%3Bh=7296a62a2a237f6b1ad8db8c38b090e9f592c8cf x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-9040
| Link | Providers | Tags |
|---|---|---|
| http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/98579 | vdb-entryx_refsource_BID | |
| https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-9040 | Vendor Advisory | |
| https://blogs.gentoo.org/ago/2017/05/12/binutils-multiple-crashes/ | x_refsource_MISCPatchThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry | |
| https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1452169 | Issue Tracking | |
| https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-9040 | ||
| https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201709-02 | vendor-advisoryx_refsource_GENTOO | |
| https://sourceware.org/git/gitweb.cgi?p=binutils-gdb.git%3Bh=7296a62a2a237f6b1ad8db8c38b090e9f592c8cf | x_refsource_MISC | |
| https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-9040 |
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.