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CVE Record

CVE-2017-14729: The *_get_synthetic_symtab functions in the Binary File Descriptor (BFD) library (aka libbfd), as distribut...

The *_get_synthetic_symtab functions in the Binary File Descriptor (BFD) library (aka libbfd), as distributed in GNU Binutils 2.29, do not ensure a unique PLT entry for a symbol, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (heap-based buffer overflow and application crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted ELF file, related to elf32-i386.c and elf64-x86-64.c.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2017-14729 affects GNU Binutils libbfd when it parses crafted ELF files. A malicious file can crash applications using this library through a heap-based buffer overflow. The sources do not show active exploitation, and the precise business risk depends on whether untrusted binaries are processed in build, analysis, or security tooling.

Executive priority

Treat this as a targeted operational risk for environments that analyze or ingest binaries. Prioritize patching where untrusted ELF files are processed automatically. It is not listed in KEV, and the source bundle does not show active exploitation.

Technical view

The issue is in *_get_synthetic_symtab functions in BFD/libbfd as distributed with GNU Binutils 2.29. The code did not ensure a unique PLT entry for a symbol, leading to heap-based buffer overflow and application crash, with possible unspecified other impact, related to x86 ELF handling.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely in systems that run Binutils or libbfd-based tooling against untrusted ELF files, such as malware analysis, CI artifact inspection, reverse engineering, or package validation workflows. General servers are less exposed unless they process attacker-supplied binaries.

Exploitation context

The public bundle supports crafted-file denial of service and possible unspecified impact. It does not support active exploitation, weaponized public exploitation, or remote compromise beyond inducing vulnerable tooling to parse a malicious ELF file.

Researcher notes

Key evidence is the CVE description, Sourceware bug, Gentoo crash report, and upstream Binutils commits. CVSS and CWE data are absent in the bundle. Avoid assuming code execution; the stated impact is crash/DoS with unspecified possible additional impact.

Mitigation direction

  • Inventory GNU Binutils and libbfd versions in build, analysis, and security tooling.
  • Upgrade to vendor-supported Binutils packages containing the upstream fixes.
  • Review distribution advisories for exact fixed package versions.
  • Restrict automated processing of untrusted ELF files until patched.
  • Run binary inspection workloads in isolated environments with resource limits.

Validation and detection

  • Check whether deployed Binutils is GNU Binutils 2.29 or vendor-equivalent vulnerable builds.
  • Identify applications linked against or embedding libbfd for ELF parsing.
  • Confirm vendor packages reference the cited upstream fix commits or later maintained releases.
  • Review CI, malware-analysis, and artifact-scanning workflows for untrusted ELF inputs.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
6

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
5Source links

CVSS and timeline data

No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
n/an/an/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.