Description
There is an open race window when writing output in the following utilities in GNU binutils version 2.35 and earlier:ar, objcopy, strip, ranlib. When these utilities are run as a privileged user (presumably as part of a script updating binaries across different users), an unprivileged user can trick these utilities into getting ownership of arbitrary files through a symlink.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | binutils | binutils 2.35 | — |
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 | 2.37-3 | — |
| Debian 13 | binutils | 2.37-3 | — |
| Debian 12 | binutils | 2.37-3 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS | binutils | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS | binutils | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS | binutils | No fix yet | — |
Show 1 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Pro 14.04 LTS | binutils | No fix yet | — |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 8 | binutils +1 | 2.30-108.el8 | RHSA-2021:4364 |
AlmaLinux
Errata ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| AlmaLinux 8 | binutils-devel | 2.30-108.el8 | ALSA-2021:4364 |
Rocky Linux
Errata ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rocky Linux 8 | binutils | 2.30-108.el8 | RLSA-2021:4364 |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 15 SP3 | binutils | 2.37-7.21.2 | SUSE-SU-2021:3616-1 |
| SLES 15 SP3 | bpftrace | 0.11.4-3.2.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:3616-1 |
| SLES 15 SP2 | binutils | 2.37-7.21.2 | SUSE-SU-2021:3616-1 |
| SLES 15 SP1 | binutils | 2.37-7.21.2 | SUSE-SU-2021:3616-1 |
| SLES 15 | binutils | 2.37-6.23.1 | SUSE-SU-2022:0934-1 |
| SLES 12 SP5 | binutils +2 | 2.37-9.39.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:3593-1 |
Show 16 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 12 SP4 | binutils | 2.37-9.39.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:3593-1 |
| SLES 12 SP3 | binutils | 2.37-9.39.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:3593-1 |
| SLES 12 SP2 | binutils | 2.37-9.39.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:3593-1 |
| SLES for SAP 15 SP1 | binutils | 2.37-7.21.2 | SUSE-SU-2021:3616-1 |
| SLES for SAP 15 | binutils | 2.37-6.23.1 | SUSE-SU-2022:0934-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP5 | binutils | 2.37-9.39.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:3593-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP4 | binutils | 2.37-9.39.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:3593-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP3 | binutils | 2.37-9.39.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:3593-1 |
| SLE HPC 15 SP1 | binutils | 2.37-7.21.2 | SUSE-SU-2021:3616-1 |
| SLE HPC 15 | binutils | 2.37-6.23.1 | SUSE-SU-2022:0934-1 |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 9 | binutils | 2.37-9.39.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:3593-1 |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 8 | binutils | 2.37-9.39.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:3593-1 |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 9 | binutils | 2.37-9.39.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:3593-1 |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 8 | binutils | 2.37-9.39.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:3593-1 |
| SUSE HPE Helion OpenStack 8 | binutils | 2.37-9.39.1 | SUSE-SU-2021:3593-1 |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 6 | binutils | 2.37-7.21.2 | SUSE-SU-2021:3616-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | binutils | 2.37-1.3 | openSUSE-SU-2024:10651-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.3 | binutils | 2.37-7.21.2 | openSUSE-SU-2021:3616-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.3 | bpftrace | 0.11.4-3.2.1 | openSUSE-SU-2021:3616-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.3 | cross-rx-binutils +20 | 2.37-7.21.1 | openSUSE-SU-2021:3616-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.2 | binutils +21 | 2.37-lp152.4.9.1 | openSUSE-SU-2021:1475-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.2 | bpftrace | 0.11.4-lp152.2.7.1 | openSUSE-SU-2021:1475-1 |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 3 | crash | 8.0.4-4 | — |
Oracle Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle Linux 8 | binutils +1 | 2.30-108.0.2.el8 | ELSA-2021-4364 |
Advisories 10
- ALSA-2021:4364 Moderate: binutils security update AlmaLinux Security Advisories · Oct 29, 2026
- RHSA-2021:4364 Red Hat Security Advisory: binutils security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
- RLSA-2021:4364 Moderate: binutils security update Rocky Linux Security Advisories · Feb 4, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2024:10651-1 binutils-2.37-1.3 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2021:3593-1 Security update for binutils SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2021:3616-1 Security update for binutils SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2021:3616-1 Security update for binutils SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2022:0934-1 Security update for binutils SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2021:1475-1 Security update for binutils SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · May 7, 2025
- ELSA-2021-4364 Moderate: binutils security update (Oracle Linux 8) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Nov 16, 2021