decode_line_info in dwarf2.c in the Binary File Descriptor (BFD) library (aka libbfd), as distributed in GNU Binutils 2.29, mishandles a length calculation, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (heap-based buffer over-read and application crash) via a crafted ELF file, related to read_1_byte.
CVE-2017-14939
Score 5.5 from GitHub Security Advisory published 2022-05-13. NVD baseline CVSS 5.5; sources differ by 0.0.
- Lower severity and no public exploit yet
A fix is available — apply it.
- CVSS v3
- 5.5
- EG Score
- 5.5(medium)
- EPSS
- 92.4%
- KEV
- Not listed
Published
September 30, 2017
Last Modified
May 13, 2026
References (10)
- cve@mitrehttp://www.securityfocus.com/bid/101216
- cve@mitrehttps://blogs.gentoo.org/ago/2017/09/26/binutils-heap-based-buffer-overflow-in-read_1_byte-dwarf2-c/
- cve@mitrehttps://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=22169
- cve@mitrehttps://sourceware.org/git/gitweb.cgi?p=binutils-gdb.git%3Bh=515f23e63c0074ab531bc954f84ca40c6281a724
- cve@mitrehttps://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/42970/
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/101216
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://blogs.gentoo.org/ago/2017/09/26/binutils-heap-based-buffer-overflow-in-read_1_byte-dwarf2-c/
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=22169
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://sourceware.org/git/gitweb.cgi?p=binutils-gdb.git%3Bh=515f23e63c0074ab531bc954f84ca40c6281a724
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/42970/
Patch Availability(1)
| Vendor / Ecosystem | Fixed in / Patch | Released | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| ubuntu | binutils-sparc64-linux-gnu (2.26.1-1ubuntu1~16.04.8+esm1) @ xenial | 2026-05-22 | ubuntu |
Patches are aggregated from vendor advisories (Red Hat, Microsoft, Cisco, GitHub) and package ecosystems (OSV, GHSA). Multiple rows for the same upstream release have been deduplicated.
All Vendor Advisories
(1)
Every vendor that published an advisory referencing this CVE — pulled from our cve_vendor_advisories aggregation. Click any row for the vendor's original advisory page.
Data Freshness Timeline
(refreshed 9× in last 7d / 37× in last 30d)
Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.
- 2026-07-07 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-25 13:47 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-24 14:02 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-23 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-22 23:30 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-06-22 14:23 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-19 19:23 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-18 17:50 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-15 17:45 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-13 22:57 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-12 23:09 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-11 13:57 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-10 22:15 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-08 14:14 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-07 15:22 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-07 15:22 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-06 13:45 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-06 13:45 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-05 22:44 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-05 17:27 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-06-05 06:08 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-04 13:10 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-01 13:49 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-05-31 22:28 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-31 00:14 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-29 13:41 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-05-26 07:17 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-05-22 21:15 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-05-22 21:15 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-22 09:23 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-05-22 09:23 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-05-22 09:23 UTCGHSA enrichment
- 2026-05-20 22:37 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-20 22:37 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-20 11:21 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-20 11:21 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-18 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-18 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore
Publicly available exploits
(1 reference)Working exploit code is in the public domain (1 Exploit-DB entry). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.
- Exploit-DBEDB-42970First seen Oct 10, 2017
binutils 2.29.51.20170921 - 'read_1_byte' Heap Buffer Overflow
Open source ↗
Related CVEs(same vendor)
Frequently asked(5)
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Dependency Blast Radius
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