CVE-2021-46174

Process crash via undersized STABS boundary check

Published Aug 22, 2023 · Updated Oct 3, 2024

Heap-based buffer overflow in GNU objdump 3.37 allows context-dependent attackers to crash the process via a crafted object file. In read_section_stabs_debugging_info, the STABS string-concatenation loop checks for 12 remaining bytes but reads a 16-byte record with bfd_getl32. The file must be processed by objdump; the upstream project disputes security treatment because inspection tools are not designed for untrusted input.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability0.82%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Heap-based buffer overflow in GNU objdump 3.37 allows context-dependent attackers to crash the process via a crafted object file. In read_section_stabs_debugging_info, the STABS string-concatenation loop checks for 12 remaining bytes but reads a 16-byte record with bfd_getl32. The file must be processed by objdump; the upstream project disputes security treatment because inspection tools are not designed for untrusted input.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-46174
Published
Aug 22, 2023
Updated
Oct 3, 2024
Vendor
GNU Project
Product
GNU objdump
Classifications
CWE-787
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 22, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Oct 3, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

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  1. Affected versionversion=3.37

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

GNU Project · GNU objdumpversion=3.37

Published CVSS scores

7.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
7.5CanonicalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
5.5Amazon LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-787Out-of-bounds Write

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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