GNU Debugger (GDB) 8.0 and earlier fails to detect a negative length field in a DWARF section. A malformed section in an ELF binary or a core file can cause GDB to repeatedly allocate memory until a process limit is reached. This can, for example, impede efforts to analyze malware with GDB.
The MITRE CVE dictionary describes this issue as:
Find out more about CVE-2017-9778 from the MITRE CVE dictionary dictionary and NIST NVD.
NOTE: The following CVSS v3 metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
| CVSS3 Base Score | 3.3 |
|---|---|
| CVSS3 Base Metrics | CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L |
| Attack Vector | Local |
| Attack Complexity | Low |
| Privileges Required | None |
| User Interaction | Required |
| Scope | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | None |
| Integrity Impact | None |
| Availability Impact | Low |
| Platform | Package | State |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | gdb | Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | gdb | Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | gdb | Will not fix |
Vulmon