Description
The Binary File Descriptor (BFD) library (aka libbfd), as distributed in GNU Binutils 2.28, is vulnerable to an invalid write of size 8 because of missing a malloc() return-value check to see if memory had actually been allocated in the _bfd_generic_get_section_contents function. This vulnerability causes programs that conduct an analysis of binary programs using the libbfd library, such as objcopy, to crash.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | binutils | 2.28-5 | — |
| Debian 13 | binutils | 2.28-5 | — |
| Debian 12 | binutils | 2.28-5 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS | binutils | 2.26.1-1ubuntu1~16.04.8+esm1 | USN-4336-2 |
| Ubuntu Pro 14.04 LTS | binutils | No fix yet | — |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 12 SP3 | binutils +2 | 2.29.1-9.20.2 | SUSE-SU-2017:3170-1 |
| SLES 12 SP2 | binutils +2 | 2.29.1-9.20.2 | SUSE-SU-2017:3170-1 |
Show 3 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES for SAP 12 SP3 | binutils | 2.29.1-9.20.2 | SUSE-SU-2017:3170-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP2 | binutils | 2.29.1-9.20.2 | SUSE-SU-2017:3170-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP1 | binutils | 2.29.1-9.20.2 | SUSE-SU-2017:3170-1 |
Advisories 2
- USN-4336-2 binutils vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Jun 25, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2017:3170-1 Security update for binutils SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
References
- https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=21431
- GLSA-201709-02 vendor-advisory