In elfutils 0.183, an infinite loop was found in the function handle_symtab in readelf.c…
Priority MEDIUM 58CWE-835Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Will not fix Red Hat: no fix planned
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-835.
Summary
In elfutils 0.183, an infinite loop was found in the function handle_symtab in readelf.c .Which allows attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite loop) via crafted file.
Why it matters now
Exploitation Proof of concept CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.00334 26th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Public exploit Yes 1 exploit referenceTagged by NVD
Fix Will not fix Red Hat: no fix planned
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- Poc
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | all versions | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- — Vendor— Affected all versions Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:elfutils_project:elfutils:0.183:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 0.183 | Vulnerable | Elfutils Project |
- cpe:2.3:a:elfutils_project:elfutils:0.183:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 0.183 Vulnerable ·Elfutils Project
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
Not affected: 3 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat Virtualization 4
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2021-33294
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-827x-xjfm-cw2c
References
More Elfutils Project Elfutils vulnerabilities
- TI-2020-13973 The libcpu component which is used by libasm of elfutils version 0.177 (git 47780c9e)… CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.5
- TI-2025-01176 GNU elfutils eu-read readelf.c handle_dynamic_symtab null pointer dereference CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 4.8
- TI-2024-16666 elfutils v0.189 was discovered to contain a NULL pointer dereference via the handle_verdef() function at readelf.c. CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 4.0
- TI-2018-11755 libelf/elf_end.c in elfutils 0.173 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service… CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2014-00166 Integer overflow in the check_section function in dwarf_begin_elf.c in the libdw library… CVSS 2.0MEDIUM 6.8
- TI-2018-06324 elfutils 0.170 has a buffer over-read in the ebl_dynamic_tag_name function of… CVSS 3.0HIGH 7.8
Sources
- CVE-2021-33294 · CVE Program
- CVE-2021-33294 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-827x-xjfm-cw2c · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2021-33294 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences