How severe is CVE-2020-21047?

CVE-2020-21047 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-2020-21047 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (13th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2020-21047?

CVE-2020-21047 affects Elfutils Project Elfutils. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2020-21047?

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

When was CVE-2020-21047 published?

CVE-2020-21047 was published on 2023-08-22 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2020-21047

CVE-2020-21047 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Elfutils Project Elfutils 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-787.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 5.5)
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (13th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-787
Affected product: Elfutils Project Elfutils
Published: 2023-08-22
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

The libcpu component which is used by libasm of elfutils version 0.177 (git 47780c9e), suffers from denial-of-service vulnerability caused by application crashes due to out-of-bounds write (CWE-787), off-by-one error (CWE-193) and reachable assertion (CWE-617); to exploit the vulnerability, the attackers need to craft certain ELF files which bypass the missing bound checks.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-21047?: The libcpu component which is used by libasm of elfutils version 0.177 (git 47780c9e), suffers from denial-of-service vulnerability caused by application crashes due to out-of-bounds write (CWE-787), off-by-one error (CWE-193) and reachable assertion (CWE-617); to exploit the vulnerability, the attackers need to craft certain ELF files which bypass the missing bound checks.
How severe is CVE-2020-21047?: CVE-2020-21047 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-2020-21047 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (13th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2020-21047?: CVE-2020-21047 affects Elfutils Project Elfutils. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2020-21047?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2020-21047 published?: CVE-2020-21047 was published on 2023-08-22 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:elfutils_project:elfutils:0.177:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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CVE-2014-0172 — Medium (CVSS 6.8): Integer overflow in the check_section function in dwarf_begin_elf.c in the libdw library, as used in elfutils 0.153 and…
CVE-2019-7149 — Medium (CVSS 6.5): A heap-based buffer over-read was discovered in the function read_srclines in dwarf_getsrclines.c in libdw in elfutils…
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