CVE-2025-1182
📋 TL;DR
A critical memory corruption vulnerability in GNU Binutils' linker (ld) allows remote attackers to potentially execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service. This affects systems using GNU Binutils 2.43 to compile or link untrusted code. The vulnerability is in the bfd_elf_reloc_symbol_deleted_p function and requires complex exploitation.
💻 Affected Systems
- GNU Binutils
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution leading to complete system compromise, data theft, or persistent backdoor installation.
Likely Case
Denial of service through application crashes or memory corruption errors during compilation/linking processes.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if systems only process trusted code sources and have proper input validation.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploit has been publicly disclosed but requires specific conditions; attackers need to craft malicious object files for processing.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Fixed in commit b425859021d17adf62f06fb904797cf8642986ad and later versions
Vendor Advisory: https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=32644
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Update GNU Binutils to version after commit b425859021d17adf62f06fb904797cf8642986ad. 2. Recompile from source with the patch applied. 3. Replace existing ld binary with patched version.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict untrusted code processing
allLimit ld usage to trusted code sources only; implement input validation for build pipelines.
Compile-time protections
linuxEnable address sanitizers and stack protection during compilation to detect/corrupt exploitation attempts.
CFLAGS="-fsanitize=address -fstack-protector-strong"
LDFLAGS="-fsanitize=address"
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Isolate build systems from production networks and implement strict access controls.
- Monitor for abnormal ld process behavior and implement application whitelisting.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Binutils version: ld --version | grep 'GNU ld' and verify if version is 2.43.Check Version:
ld --version | head -1Verify Fix Applied:
Verify patch is applied: strings /path/to/ld | grep b425859021d17adf62f06fb904797cf8642986ad or check version >2.43.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Segmentation faults in ld processes
- Memory corruption errors in system logs
- Abnormal termination of compilation jobs
Network Indicators:
- Unexpected network connections from build systems
- Transfer of suspicious object files to build servers
SIEM Query:
process_name:"ld" AND (event_type:"crash" OR memory_violation:"true")🔗 References
- https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/attachment.cgi?id=15919
- https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=32644
- https://sourceware.org/git/gitweb.cgi?p=binutils-gdb.git;h=b425859021d17adf62f06fb904797cf8642986ad
- https://vuldb.com/?ctiid.295086
- https://vuldb.com/?id.295086
- https://vuldb.com/?submit.495407
- https://www.gnu.org/
- https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=32644
- https://vuldb.com/?submit.495407
