Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-3549 affects GNU binutils objdump 2.36. A specially crafted file with a large section could make objdump crash and may cause memory corruption. Business risk is mainly to development, malware-analysis, and build environments that inspect untrusted binaries.
Executive priority
Treat as a targeted tooling risk, not an internet-wide emergency. Prioritize remediation for engineering, build, firmware, and malware-analysis environments that routinely inspect untrusted binaries.
Technical view
The flaw is an out-of-bounds memory issue in avr_elf32_load_records_from_section() when objdump handles a large section. Sources identify GNU binutils 2.36 as affected and classify the weakness as CWE-119. Available data does not include CVSS scoring or confirmed exploitation.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where objdump 2.36 is installed and used to inspect untrusted ELF files, firmware, archives, or malware samples. General production servers are less exposed unless automated workflows invoke objdump on external files.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show KEV listing or active exploitation. Practical abuse appears to require getting a user or automated process to run affected objdump against a maliciously formed file.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE description and referenced advisories. No CVSS vector, patch version, or public exploit confirmation is provided in the bundle. The named function suggests AVR ELF handling is the relevant parsing area.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory systems with GNU binutils or objdump 2.36 installed.
- Apply vendor or distribution binutils updates when available.
- Restrict objdump use on untrusted files until patched.
- Review Red Hat, Gentoo, and NetApp guidance for affected packages.
- Isolate binary-analysis workflows that process external samples.
Validation and detection
- Check installed binutils and objdump versions across developer and analysis systems.
- Confirm whether automated pipelines call objdump on external inputs.
- Review package manager advisories for patched binutils builds.
- Verify vendor guidance for NetApp or Linux distribution exposure.
- Document remaining systems that cannot be updated promptly.
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.
CWE-119: 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.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-3549 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://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1960717CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- GLSA-202208-30CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_GENTOO
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20250228-0005/CVE reference
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.
Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer
Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.