CVE-2019-12972

Name: CVE-2019-12972
Creator: NVD / NIST
Published: 2019-06-26T14:15:10.043+00:00
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

MEDIUMCVSS 5.5/10EPSS 1.80%

Last modified Jun 17, 2026

CVE-2019-12972 is a medium-severity vulnerability rated 5.5/10 on the CVSS scale. An issue was discovered in the Binary File Descriptor (BFD) library (aka libbfd), as distributed in GNU Binutils 2.32. There is a heap-based buffer over-read in _bfd_doprnt in bfd.c because elf_object_p in elfcode.h mishandles an e_shstrndx section of type SHT_GROUP by omitting a trailing '\0' character.. EPSS estimates a 1.80% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

An issue was discovered in the Binary File Descriptor (BFD) library (aka libbfd), as distributed in GNU Binutils 2.32. There is a heap-based buffer over-read in _bfd_doprnt in bfd.c because elf_object_p in elfcode.h mishandles an e_shstrndx section of type SHT_GROUP by omitting a trailing '\0' character.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

5.5/10

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS Probability

1.80%

75.7th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-125

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions
Gnu	Binutils	2.32
Opensuse	Leap	15.1
Opensuse	Leap	15.2
Canonical	Ubuntu Linux	18.04

References

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-10/msg00078.htmlMailing List, Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-11/msg00004.htmlMailing List, Third Party Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/108903Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202007-39Third Party Advisory
https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=24689Exploit, Issue Tracking, Patch, Third Party Advisory
https://sourceware.org/git/gitweb.cgi?p=binutils-gdb.git%3Bh=890f750a3b053532a4b839a2dd6243076de12031
https://usn.ubuntu.com/4336-1/Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-10/msg00078.htmlMailing List, Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-11/msg00004.htmlMailing List, Third Party Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/108903Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202007-39Third Party Advisory
https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=24689Exploit, Issue Tracking, Patch, Third Party Advisory
https://sourceware.org/git/gitweb.cgi?p=binutils-gdb.git%3Bh=890f750a3b053532a4b839a2dd6243076de12031
https://usn.ubuntu.com/4336-1/Third Party Advisory

Timeline

Published: Jun 26, 2019
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2019-12972?

How severe is CVE-2019-12972?

CVE-2019-12972 has a CVSS score of 5.5/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 1.80% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2019-12972?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

Are you affected by CVE-2019-12972?

Run a free Strix scan to check your systems for this vulnerability.

Scan your code now

Source: NVD / NIST