CVE-2025-69651
Use-After-Free in GNU Binutils readelf Causes Denial of Service
Publication date: 2026-03-06
Last updated on: 2026-03-19
Assigner: MITRE
Description
Description
CVSS Scores
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Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| gnu | binutils | to 2.46 (inc) |
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
| CWE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| CWE-476 | The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL. |
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?
This vulnerability exists in GNU Binutils through version 2.46, specifically in the readelf tool. It occurs when readelf processes a specially crafted ELF binary containing malformed relocation or symbol data. If an error happens during parsing, an internal array called all_relocations may remain partially uninitialized. Later, when the program tries to free a pointer related to these relocations, it may attempt to free an invalid pointer, causing memory corruption checks in the underlying glibc library to trigger and the program to terminate unexpectedly with a SIGABRT signal.
Importantly, no further memory corruption or code execution beyond this termination was observed, so the vulnerability mainly causes the program to crash.
How can this vulnerability impact me? :
The primary impact of this vulnerability is a denial of service condition. When processing a maliciously crafted ELF binary, the readelf tool may crash due to an invalid pointer free, causing it to terminate unexpectedly.
There is no evidence that this vulnerability can lead to arbitrary code execution or further memory corruption, so the impact is limited to the inability to successfully complete the readelf operation.
How does this vulnerability affect compliance with common standards and regulations (like GDPR, HIPAA)?:
I don't know
How can this vulnerability be detected on my network or system? Can you suggest some commands?
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What immediate steps should I take to mitigate this vulnerability?
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