Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2020-16593


A Null Pointer Dereference vulnerability exists in the Binary File Descriptor (BFD) library (aka libbfd), as distributed in GNU Binutils 2.35, in scan_unit_for_symbols, as demonstrated in addr2line, that can cause a denial of service via a crafted file.


Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a MEDIUM severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.5, requiring local system access to exploit with relatively low complexity though user interaction is required and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 4 products from gnu, from netapp, from netapp and 1 other, organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Reported in 2020, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.


Published

2020-12-09T21:15:15.243

Last Modified

2024-11-21T05:07:10.770

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.1: 5.5 (MEDIUM)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P

  • Access Vector: NETWORK
  • Access Complexity: MEDIUM
  • Authentication: NONE
  • Confidentiality Impact: NONE
  • Integrity Impact: NONE
  • Availability Impact: PARTIAL
Exploitability Score

8.6

Impact Score

2.9

Weaknesses
  • Type: Primary
    CWE-476

Affected Vendors & Products
Type Vendor Product Version/Range Vulnerable?
Application gnu binutils 2.35 Yes
Application netapp cloud_backup - Yes
Application netapp ontap_select_deploy_administration_utility - Yes
Application netapp solidfire_\&_hci_management_node - Yes

References

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For gnu's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.