CVE-2018-12697
binutils: NULL pointer dereference in work_stuff_copy_to_from in cplus-dem.c.
Severity
LowRed Hat Product Security
CVSS 3.0
Review impact separately from score.
Published · April 11, 2018
Updated · November 21, 2025
Description
A NULL pointer dereference (aka SEGV on unknown address 0x000000000000) was discovered in work_stuff_copy_to_from in cplus-dem.c in GNU libiberty, as distributed in GNU Binutils 2.30. This can occur during execution of objdump.
Statement
This issue is classified with a low severity primarily because binutils is not typically exposed to untrusted inputs in most environments, limiting the possibility of exploitation. Additionally, this NULL pointer dereference is only triggered during the parsing of a specially crafted file, requiring an attacker to convince a user to process this file with objdump. Furthermore, binutils does not handle privileged operations, meaning that exploitation is unlikely to lead to system compromise or escalation of privileges. Also, the impact is limited to the application itself, without affecting the broader system or network security.
CVSS score applicability
The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.
Mitigation
No mitigation is specified in collected source.
CVSS / CWE
CVSS 3.0 · 3.3CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
CWE-476 · NULL Pointer Dereference