An attempted excessive memory allocation was discovered in the function read_long_names in elf_begin.c in libelf in elfutils 0.174.
An attempted excessive memory allocation was discovered in the function read_long_names in elf_begin.c in libelf in elfutils 0.174. Remote attackers could leverage this vulnerability to cause a denial-of-service via crafted elf input, which leads to an out-of-memory exception. NOTE: The maintainers believe this is not a real issue, but instead a "warning caused by ASAN because the allocation is big. By setting ASAN_OPTIONS=allocator_may_return_null=1 and running the reproducer, nothing happens."
Noroxi analysis
No Noroxi analysis for this record yet
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We use this product, ask for help- Published
- Jan 28, 2019
- Updated
- Jun 16, 2026
- EPSS
- 1.6% · 75th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-770
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Report tools
Action score
26
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 26 / 40 · 6.5 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 1.6%
Affected systems
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| elfutils project | elfutils | cpe:2.3:a:elfutils_project:elfutils |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- elfutils project elfutils0.174
Package-level exposure
OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine:v3.12 | elfutils | before 0.176-r0 | 0.176-r0 |
| Debian:12 | elfutils | before 0.176-1 | 0.176-1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP3 | dwarves | before 1.22-150300.7.3.1 | 1.22-150300.7.3.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP3 | dwarves | before 1.22-150300.7.3.1 | 1.22-150300.7.3.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP3 | elfutils | before 0.177-150300.11.3.1 | 0.177-150300.11.3.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP3 | elfutils | before 0.177-150300.11.3.1 | 0.177-150300.11.3.1 |
Same product
elfutils project: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2018-16402libelf/elf_end.c in elfutils 0.173 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (double free and application crash) or possibly have40Plan
- CVE-2018-8769elfutils 0.170 has a buffer over-read in the ebl_dynamic_tag_name function of libebl/ebldynamictagname.c because SYMTAB_SHNDX is unsupported31Monitor
- CVE-2014-0172Integer overflow in the check_section function in dwarf_begin_elf.c in the libdw library, as used in elfutils 0.153 and possibly through 0.128Monitor
- CVE-2019-7149A heap-based buffer over-read was discovered in the function read_srclines in dwarf_getsrclines.c in libdw in elfutils 0.175.27Monitor
- CVE-2018-18520An Invalid Memory Address Dereference exists in the function elf_end in libelf in elfutils through v0.174.27Monitor
- CVE-2014-9447Directory traversal vulnerability in the read_long_names function in libelf/elf_begin.c in elfutils 0.152 and 0.161 allows remote attackers 27Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| alpine:elfutils | 0.176-r0 · Alpine:v3.12 | Package registry (OSV) |
| debian:elfutils | 0.176-1 · Debian:12 | Package registry (OSV) |
| opensuse:dwarves | 1.22-150300.7.3.1 · openSUSE:Leap 15.3 | Package registry (OSV) |
| opensuse:elfutils | 0.177-150300.11.3.1 · openSUSE:Leap 15.3 | Package registry (OSV) |
| suse:dwarves | 1.22-150300.7.3.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP3 | Package registry (OSV) |
| suse:elfutils | 0.177-150300.11.3.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP3 | Package registry (OSV) |
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
No dated events beyond publication.
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
No commit or PR link among the references.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
No credits in the CNA record.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
- No account or password is required.
- A user must open a link or visit a page.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- none
- Integrity
- none
- Availability
- high · the service can be disrupted
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- None
- Integrity impact
- None
- Availability impact
- High
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-770 · Allocation of Resources Without Limits or ThrottlingCVSS vector
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
nvd-primary
Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
- FloodingCAPEC-125likelihood: High · Medium
- Excessive AllocationCAPEC-130likelihood: Medium · Medium
- XML Ping of the DeathCAPEC-147likelihood: Low · Medium
- Exponential Data ExpansionCAPEC-197likelihood: High · Medium
- Serialized Data Parameter BlowupCAPEC-229likelihood: High · High
- Serialized Data with Nested PayloadsCAPEC-230likelihood: Medium · High
- Oversized Serialized Data PayloadsCAPEC-231likelihood: Medium · High
- HTTP DoSCAPEC-469Low
ATT&CK techniques
- Network Denial of Service:Direct Network FloodT1498.001
- Network Denial of Service:Reflection AmplificationT1498.002
- Endpoint Denial of ServiceT1499
- Endpoint Denial of Service: OS Exhaustion FloodT1499.001
- Endpoint Denial of Service:Service Exhaustion FloodT1499.002
- Endpoint Denial of Service:Application Exhaustion FloodT1499.003
Change log
- Fix✗ → ✓
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