CVE Database›CVE-2020-35507

CVE-2020-35507

binutils: NULL pointer dereference in bfd_pef_parse_function_stubs function in bfd/pef.c

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Severity

Low

Red Hat Product Security

5.5

CVSS 3.1

Review impact separately from score.

Published · December 22, 2019

Updated · November 21, 2025

Description

A flaw was found in bfd_pef_parse_function_stubs of bfd/pef.c in binutils which could allow an attacker who is able to submit a crafted file to be processed by objdump to cause a NULL pointer dereference. The greatest threat of this flaw is to application availability.

Statement

binutils as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8's GCC Toolset 10 and Red Hat Developer Toolset 10 are not affected by this flaw because the versions shipped have already received the patch.

The issue is classified as low severity primarily because binutils is not typically exposed to untrusted inputs in most environments, limiting its exploitation potential. The NULL pointer dereference in bfd_pef_parse_function_stubs() only triggers during the parsing of malformed files, which would require an attacker to convince a user to process a malicious file. Moreover, binutils does not handle privileged operations, meaning exploitation is unlikely to lead to system compromise or escalation of privileges. Additionally, the impact is localized 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 3.1 · 5.5
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CWE-476 · NULL Pointer Dereference