CVE-2018-18521: Divide by Zero

Published Oct 19, 2018
·
Updated

A flaw was found in elfutils 0.174. A Divide-by-zero vulnerabilities in the function arlibaddsymbols() in arlib.c allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) with a crafted ELF file, as demonstrated by eu-ranlib, because a zero shentsize is mishandled.

References: https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/showbug.cgi?id=23786 https://sourceware.org/ml/elfutils-devel/2018-q4/msg00055.html

Upstream Patch: https://sourceware.org/git/?p=elfutils.git;a=commit;h=2b16a9be69939822dcafe075413468daac98b327

Other sources

Divide-by-zero vulnerabilities in the function arlibaddsymbols() in arlib.c in elfutils 0.174 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) with a crafted ELF file, as demonstrated by eu-ranlib, because a zero shentsize is mishandled.

Launchpad

Affected Software

12 affected componentsFixes available
Elfutils Project Elfutils=0.174
Debian Debian Linux=8.0
Debian Debian Linux=9.0
redhat Enterprise Linux Desktop=7.0
redhat Enterprise Linux Server=7.0
redhat Enterprise Linux Workstation=7.0
openSUSE Leap=15.0
openSUSE Leap=15.1
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=16.04
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=18.04
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=18.10
debian/elfutils
0.183-10.188-2.10.192-40.194-1

Event History

Oct 19, 2018
CVE Published
via MITRE·05:00 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·05:00 PM
Description
Nov 5, 2018
Data Sourced
via Red Hat·03:42 PM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Jan 11, 2024
Data Sourced
via Launchpad·10:57 PM
Description
Feb 20, 2026
Data Sourced
via Ubuntu·05:30 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Data Sourced
via Debian·05:31 PM
DescriptionAffected Software
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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2018-18521?

CVE-2018-18521 is classified as a denial of service vulnerability that can cause an application crash.

2

How do I fix CVE-2018-18521?

To fix CVE-2018-18521, upgrade elfutils to version 0.183-1 or later.

3

Which versions of elfutils are affected by CVE-2018-18521?

CVE-2018-18521 affects elfutils version 0.174 and earlier.

4

Can CVE-2018-18521 be exploited remotely?

Yes, CVE-2018-18521 can be exploited remotely using a crafted ELF file.

5

What specific function in elfutils is vulnerable in CVE-2018-18521?

The function arlib_add_symbols() in arlib.c is where the divide-by-zero vulnerability occurs.

Contact

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