CVE-2025-7546
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in GNU Binutils 2.45 allows an attacker to trigger an out-of-bounds write in the bfd_elf_set_group_contents function. Attackers with local access could potentially crash applications or execute arbitrary code. Anyone using Binutils 2.45 for processing ELF files is affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- GNU Binutils
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Local privilege escalation leading to full system compromise via arbitrary code execution
Likely Case
Application crashes leading to denial of service or limited code execution in the context of the vulnerable process
If Mitigated
Process crashes without privilege escalation if proper sandboxing and memory protections are enabled
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploit requires local access and knowledge of vulnerable Binutils usage patterns
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Binutils with commit 41461010eb7c79fee7a9d5f6209accdaac66cc6b
Vendor Advisory: https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=33050
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Update Binutils to version 2.46 or later
2. Apply patch from commit 41461010eb7c79fee7a9d5f6209accdaac66cc6b
3. Recompile any affected binaries using the patched Binutils
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict Binutils Usage
linuxLimit use of vulnerable Binutils tools to trusted users only
chmod 750 /usr/bin/objdump /usr/bin/readelf /usr/bin/nm
Enable ASLR and DEP
linuxStrengthen system memory protections to reduce exploit effectiveness
sysctl -w kernel.randomize_va_space=2
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Isolate systems using vulnerable Binutils from untrusted users
- Implement strict access controls and monitoring on build/development systems
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Binutils version: objdump --version | grep 'GNU objdump'Check Version:
objdump --version | head -1Verify Fix Applied:
Verify patch is applied by checking Binutils source for commit 41461010eb7c79fee7a9d5f6209accdaac66cc6b📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Segmentation faults in Binutils processes
- Abnormal memory access patterns in system logs
Network Indicators:
- None - local exploit only
SIEM Query:
process.name: (objdump OR readelf OR nm) AND event.action: crash🔗 References
- https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/attachment.cgi?id=16118
- https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=33050
- https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=33050#c2
- https://sourceware.org/git/gitweb.cgi?p=binutils-gdb.git;h=41461010eb7c79fee7a9d5f6209accdaac66cc6b
- https://vuldb.com/?ctiid.316244
- https://vuldb.com/?id.316244
- https://vuldb.com/?submit.614375
- https://www.gnu.org/
- https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=33050
