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CVE Record

CVE-2021-3530: A flaw was discovered in GNU libiberty within demangle_path() in rust-demangle.c, as distributed in GNU Bin...

A flaw was discovered in GNU libiberty within demangle_path() in rust-demangle.c, as distributed in GNU Binutils version 2.36. A crafted symbol can cause stack memory to be exhausted leading to a crash.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2021-3530 is a denial-of-service flaw in GNU Binutils libiberty. A specially crafted symbol can make the Rust demangler exhaust stack memory and crash. This mainly matters where tooling automatically processes untrusted binaries, object files, or symbols.

Executive priority

Treat this as a targeted stability risk for engineering and analysis environments, not an enterprise-wide emergency based on the provided evidence. Prioritize patching shared build and scanning infrastructure first.

Technical view

The flaw is in demangle_path() in rust-demangle.c within GNU libiberty as distributed with GNU Binutils 2.36 and earlier. The CVE maps to CWE-674 and describes uncontrolled stack exhaustion from crafted symbol input, resulting in a crash rather than documented code execution.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely in developer, CI, packaging, debugging, binary-analysis, and security-scanning workflows using vulnerable Binutils or libiberty builds to demangle Rust symbols from untrusted inputs.

Exploitation context

The bundle does not identify active exploitation, and CISA KEV status is false. The public description supports crash-oriented denial of service from crafted symbol processing, not privilege escalation or remote code execution.

Researcher notes

Evidence is limited to crash behavior in GNU libiberty Rust demangling. The Fedora patch reference indicates a fix exists, but the bundle does not provide CVSS, exploit evidence, or detailed vendor version matrices.

Mitigation direction

  • Inventory GNU Binutils and libiberty versions across build, CI, and analysis systems.
  • Update Binutils through vendor packages that include the CVE-2021-3530 fix or backport.
  • Review Fedora, Gentoo, NetApp, or relevant platform guidance for applicable fixed packages.
  • Limit automated demangling of untrusted binaries or symbols until vulnerable tooling is patched.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm installed Binutils is newer than 2.36 or vendor-backported with the fix.
  • Check package changelogs or advisories for explicit CVE-2021-3530 remediation.
  • Identify pipelines that process untrusted Rust symbols, object files, or binaries.
  • Verify patched systems no longer run vulnerable Binutils builds in CI or analysis jobs.
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

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

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cwe · low confidence lookup

CWE-674: Exact CWE lookup

Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2021-3530 mapping review

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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/abinutilsGNU Binutils version before and including 2.36Listed
Weakness

CWE details

CWE-674

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

CWE-674 · source CWE mapping

Uncontrolled Recursion

Uncontrolled Recursion represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.

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