How severe is CVE-2018-18605?

CVE-2018-18605 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.5, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.

Is CVE-2018-18605 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 2% (81st percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2018-18605?

CVE-2018-18605 primarily affects Gnu Binutils. In total, 5 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2018-18605?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.

When was CVE-2018-18605 published?

CVE-2018-18605 was published on 2018-10-23 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2018-18605

CVE-2018-18605 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Gnu Binutils with a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.5. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-125.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 5.5)
CVSS v2: 4.3
EPSS exploit prediction: 2% (81st percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-125
Affected product: Gnu Binutils
Published: 2018-10-23
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

A heap-based buffer over-read issue was discovered in the function sec_merge_hash_lookup in merge.c in the Binary File Descriptor (BFD) library (aka libbfd), as distributed in GNU Binutils 2.31, because _bfd_add_merge_section mishandles section merges when size is not a multiple of entsize. A specially crafted ELF allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service, as demonstrated by ld.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2018-18605?: A heap-based buffer over-read issue was discovered in the function sec_merge_hash_lookup in merge.c in the Binary File Descriptor (BFD) library (aka libbfd), as distributed in GNU Binutils 2.31, because _bfd_add_merge_section mishandles section merges when size is not a multiple of entsize. A specially crafted ELF allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service, as demonstrated by ld.
How severe is CVE-2018-18605?: CVE-2018-18605 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.5, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.
Is CVE-2018-18605 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 2% (81st percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2018-18605?: CVE-2018-18605 primarily affects Gnu Binutils. In total, 5 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2018-18605?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2018-18605 published?: CVE-2018-18605 was published on 2018-10-23 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (5)

cpe:2.3:a:gnu:binutils:2.31:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:netapp:data_ontap:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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