CVE-2018-18520
elfutils: eu-size cannot handle recursive ar files
Severity
LowRed Hat Product Security
CVSS 3.0
Review impact separately from score.
Published · October 17, 2018
Updated · November 22, 2025
Description
An Invalid Memory Address Dereference exists in the function elf_end in libelf in elfutils through v0.174. Although eu-size is intended to support ar files inside ar files, handle_ar in size.c closes the outer ar file before handling all inner entries. The vulnerability allows attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) with a crafted ELF file.
Statement
This issue affects the versions of elfutils as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, 6, and 7.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 is now in Extended Life Phase of the support and maintenance life cycle. This issue is not currently planned to be addressed in future updates. For additional information, refer to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Life Cycle: https://access.redhat.com/support/policy/updates/errata/.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 is now in Maintenance Support 2 Phase of the support and maintenance life cycle. This has been rated as having a security impact of Low, and is not currently planned to be addressed in future updates. For additional information, refer to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Life Cycle: https://access.redhat.com/support/policy/updates/errata/.
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:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
CWE-119 · Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer