binutils: Stack consumption problem caused by the cplus_demangle_type
Published Oct 4, 2018
5.5
MEDIUMCVSS 3.0
EPSS 1.29%
Description
An issue was discovered in cp-demangle.c in GNU libiberty, as distributed in GNU Binutils 2.31. There is a stack consumption problem caused by the cplus_demangle_type function making recursive calls to itself in certain scenarios involving many 'P' characters.
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
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
binutils
Will not fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
mingw-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 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | binutils | Will not fix | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | mingw-binutils | Will not fix | n/a |
No package ranges for this CVE.
Remediation
Red Hat statement
This issue is classified with a low severity primarily because binutils is not typically exposed to untrusted inputs in most environments, limiting the possibility of exploitation. Additionally, this stack memory exhaustion is only triggered during the parsing of a specially crafted file, requiring an attacker to convince a user to process this file with c++filt. Furthermore, binutils does not handle privileged operations, meaning that exploitation is unlikely to lead to system compromise or escalation of privileges. Also, the impact is limited to the application itself, without affecting the broader system or network security.
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
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 (10 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | 1.29% (0.01291) | 69.19th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 15, 2026 | 1.30% (0.01297) | 66.53th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Mar 17, 2025 | 0.24% (0.00245) | 45.92th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Dec 12, 2024 | 0.20% (0.00204) | 59.30th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Sep 28, 2023 | 0.20% (0.00204) | 57.91th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 0.12% (0.00120) | 44.55th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 6, 2023 | 1.02% (0.01018) | 40.69th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 4, 2022 | 1.02% (0.01018) | 19.50th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 3, 2022 | 1.25% (0.01247) | 30.57th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Apr 14, 2021 | 1.25% (0.01247) | 0.00th | v1 |
References (9)
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-10/msg00072.html vendor-advisoryx_refsource_SUSE
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-11/msg00008.html vendor-advisoryx_refsource_SUSE
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2018-17985 Vendor Advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1652723 Issue Tracking
- https://gcc.gnu.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=87335 x_refsource_MISCIssue TrackingThird Party Advisory
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-17985
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/4326-1/ vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTU
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/4336-1/ vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTU
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-17985
| Link | Providers | Tags |
|---|---|---|
| http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-10/msg00072.html | vendor-advisoryx_refsource_SUSE | |
| http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-11/msg00008.html | vendor-advisoryx_refsource_SUSE | |
| https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2018-17985 | Vendor Advisory | |
| https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1652723 | Issue Tracking | |
| https://gcc.gnu.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=87335 | x_refsource_MISCIssue TrackingThird Party Advisory | |
| https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-17985 | ||
| https://usn.ubuntu.com/4326-1/ | vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTU | |
| https://usn.ubuntu.com/4336-1/ | vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTU | |
| https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-17985 |
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.