Strings command is vulnerable to a Denial of Service
Denial-of-service vulnerability in the GNU binutils strings command via a crafted binary.
Antecedentes
strings is a tool from the GNU binutils package that extracts printable strings from a binary file.
Description
It is possible to construct a binary with certain special characters in a variable such that strings cannot extract its printable strings: the program crashes with a segmentation fault or hangs. The problem lies in the bfd_hash_lookup function in the libbfd 2.16.1 library.
Business impact
Tool denial of service, allowing a malicious binary to protect itself against chain analysis.
Affected systems
Tested on Linux with binutils and libbfd 2.16.1.
Solución
There is a provisional patch published in the Sourceware tracking system.
Calendario de divulgación
References
The information contained within this advisory is supplied 'as-is' with no warranties or guarantees of fitness for use or otherwise. Internet Security Auditors accepts no responsibility for any damage caused by the use or misuse of this information.
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