NULL pointer dereference in binutils
Priority LOW 25CWE-476Published · 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
- Partial Red Hat: 8 fixed, 4 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CISA ADP. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-476.
Summary
An illegal memory access flaw was found in the binutils package. Parsing an ELF file containing corrupt symbol version information may result in a denial of service. This issue is the result of an incomplete fix for CVE-2020-16599.
Why it matters now
Exploitation None reported CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.00446 38th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Public exploit Yes 2 exploit referencesTagged by NVD
Fix Partial Red Hat: 5 advisoriesRed Hat: 8 fixed, 4 without a fix
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | binutils | binutils 2.39-7 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- binutils Vendor— Affected binutils 2.39-7 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 6
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:gnu:binutils:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 2.35 to before 2.39-7 | Vulnerable | GNU |
| cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:37:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 37 | Vulnerable | Fedoraproject |
| cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.0 | Vulnerable | Red Hat |
| cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.0 | Vulnerable | Red Hat |
| cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 8.0 | Vulnerable | Red Hat |
| cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 9.0 | Vulnerable | Red Hat |
- cpe:2.3:a:gnu:binutils:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.35 to before 2.39-7 Vulnerable ·GNU
- cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:37:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 37 Vulnerable ·Fedoraproject
- cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.0 Vulnerable ·Red Hat
- cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.0 Vulnerable ·Red Hat
- cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.0 Vulnerable ·Red Hat
- cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 9.0 Vulnerable ·Red Hat
Remediation
Red Hat 5 advisories
- RHSA-2023:7394 Released 2023-11-21 · Red Hat rating Moderatebinutils security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v.8.6) binutils-devel-2.30-113.el8_6.2
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v.8.6) binutils-2.30-113.el8_6.2
- RHSA-2023:6593 Released 2023-11-07 · Red Hat rating Moderatebinutils security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) binutils-devel-2.35.2-42.el9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) binutils-2.35.2-42.el9, binutils-gold-2.35.2-42.el9
- RHSA-2023:6236 Released 2023-11-01 · Red Hat rating Moderatebinutils security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8) binutils-devel-2.30-119.el8_8.2
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) binutils-2.30-119.el8_8.2
Show 2 more Red Hat advisories
- RHSA-2023:3269 Released 2023-05-23 · Red Hat rating Moderatedevtoolset-12-binutils security update
- Red Hat Software Collections for RHEL Workstation(v. 7) devtoolset-12-binutils-2.36.1-6.el7, devtoolset-12-binutils-devel-2.36.1-6.el7
- Red Hat Software Collections for RHEL(v. 7) devtoolset-12-binutils-2.36.1-6.el7, devtoolset-12-binutils-devel-2.36.1-6.el7
- RHSA-2023:2873 Released 2023-05-16 · Red Hat rating Moderategcc-toolset-12-binutils security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8) gcc-toolset-12-binutils-2.38-17.el8, gcc-toolset-12-binutils-devel-2.38-17.el8, gcc-toolset-12-binutils-gold-2.38-17.el8
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: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:2873, RHSA-2023:6236 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:6593 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v.8.6) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:7394 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:6236 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:6593 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v.8.6) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:7394 |
| Red Hat Software Collections for RHEL Workstation(v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:3269 |
| Red Hat Software Collections for RHEL(v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:3269 |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2022-4285
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-qx33-qxjc-p36p
References
Sources
- CVE-2022-4285 · CVE Program
- CVE-2022-4285 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-qx33-qxjc-p36p · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2022-4285 · 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