Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2019-1010204 is a denial-of-service flaw in GNU binutils gold. A specially malformed ELF file can crash or disrupt processing when opened by affected gold versions. Business urgency depends on whether build, packaging, or analysis systems process untrusted ELF files.
Executive priority
Prioritize this where affected toolchains process untrusted ELF files or support security-critical build and analysis workflows. For ordinary endpoints with no such workflow, track remediation through normal package maintenance.
Technical view
The source bundle describes improper input validation, a signed/unsigned comparison issue, and an out-of-bounds read in gold/fileread.cc and elfcpp/elfcpp_file.h. Affected versions are gold v1.11-v1.16 in GNU binutils v2.21-v2.31.1. The trigger is opening an ELF file with an invalid e_shoff header field.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in build systems, toolchains, malware-analysis workflows, package inspection services, or appliances that include affected GNU gold and open ELF files supplied by users or third parties. Systems that never process untrusted ELF files have lower practical exposure.
Exploitation context
The bundle states denial of service as the impact and identifies a malformed ELF file as the attack vector. It does not include CVSS, KEV listing, or evidence of active exploitation. Treat exploit status as unconfirmed.
Researcher notes
The evidence is specific about vulnerable gold versions and file locations, but incomplete on scoring, fixed versions, and vendor product impact. Avoid assuming affected NetApp or F5 products beyond their advisory presence; consult those advisories for product-specific status.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory GNU binutils gold versions on build and analysis systems.
- Check GNU, OS vendor, NetApp, and F5 guidance for applicable fixes.
- Update affected packages when a trusted vendor fix is available.
- Restrict processing of untrusted ELF files where practical.
- Isolate ELF analysis workflows from production services.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether gold v1.11-v1.16 is present in the environment.
- Identify workflows that open ELF files from users or third parties.
- Review vendor advisories for affected product-specific exposure.
- Check whether build or analysis jobs can fail safely without service impact.
- Document compensating controls for untrusted ELF handling.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CVE-2019-1010204 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
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.
CVSS and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=23765CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20190822-0001/CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://support.f5.com/csp/article/K05032915?utm_source=f5support&%3Butm_medium=RSSCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.