USN-6101-1: GNU binutils vulnerabilities

Publication date

24 May 2023

Overview

Several security issues were fixed in GNU binutils.


Packages

  • binutils - GNU assembler, linker and binary utilities

Details

It was discovered that GNU binutils incorrectly handled certain DWARF
files. An attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a crash or
execute arbitrary code. This issue only affected Ubuntu 22.10.
(CVE-2023-1579)

It was discovered that GNU binutils did not properly verify the version
definitions in zer0-lengthverdef table. An attacker could possibly use this
issue to cause a crash or execute arbitrary code. This issue only affected
Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, Ubuntu 22.10 and Ubuntu 23.04. (CVE-2023-1972)

It was discovered that GNU binutils did not properly validate the size of
length parameter in vms-alpha. An attacker could possibly use this issue to
cause a crash or access sensitive information. This issue only affected
Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS and Ubuntu 22.10.
(

It was discovered that GNU binutils incorrectly handled certain DWARF
files. An attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a crash or
execute arbitrary code. This issue only affected Ubuntu 22.10.
(CVE-2023-1579)

It was discovered that GNU binutils did not properly verify the version
definitions in zer0-lengthverdef table. An attacker could possibly use this
issue to cause a crash or execute arbitrary code. This issue only affected
Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, Ubuntu 22.10 and Ubuntu 23.04. (CVE-2023-1972)

It was discovered that GNU binutils did not properly validate the size of
length parameter in vms-alpha. An attacker could possibly use this issue to
cause a crash or access sensitive information. This issue only affected
Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS and Ubuntu 22.10.
(CVE-2023-25584)

It was discovered that GNU binutils did not properly initialized the
file_table field of struct module and the_bfd field of asymbol. An attacker
could possibly use this issue to cause a crash. This issue only affected
Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS and
Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. (CVE-2023-25585, CVE-2023-25588)


Update instructions

In general, a standard system update will make all the necessary changes.

Learn more about how to get the fixes.

The problem can be corrected by updating your system to the following package versions:

Ubuntu Release Package Version
23.04 lunar binutils –  2.40-2ubuntu4.1
binutils-multiarch –  2.40-2ubuntu4.1
22.10 kinetic binutils –  2.39-3ubuntu1.2
binutils-multiarch –  2.39-3ubuntu1.2
22.04 jammy binutils –  2.38-4ubuntu2.2
binutils-multiarch –  2.38-4ubuntu2.2
20.04 focal binutils –  2.34-6ubuntu1.5
binutils-multiarch –  2.34-6ubuntu1.5
18.04 bionic binutils –  2.30-21ubuntu1~18.04.9
binutils-multiarch –  2.30-21ubuntu1~18.04.9
16.04 xenial binutils –  2.26.1-1ubuntu1~16.04.8+esm6  
binutils-multiarch –  2.26.1-1ubuntu1~16.04.8+esm6  
14.04 trusty binutils –  2.24-5ubuntu14.2+esm1  
binutils-multiarch –  2.24-5ubuntu14.2+esm1  

Reduce your security exposure

Ubuntu Pro provides ten-year security coverage to 25,000+ packages in Main and Universe repositories, and it is free for up to five machines.


Have additional questions?

Talk to a member of the team ›