What is the CVSS score of CVE-2017-6966?

CVE-2017-6966 has a CVSS 3.0 base score of 5.5 (Medium). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H. EPSS exploitation probability: 0.3%.

Is there a public PoC exploit available for CVE-2017-6966?

Yes, a public proof-of-concept exploit is available for CVE-2017-6966. Prioritise patching immediately. EPSS: 0.3%.

Binutils CVE-2017-6966

MEDIUM

Use After Free (CWE-416)

2017-03-17 cve@mitre.org

Information Disclosure Use After Free Memory Corruption Binutils Gnu

5.5

CVSS 3.0 · NVD

View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness	CWE CWE-416 ASVS 5.0 V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Memory lifecycle management MITRE ATT&CK 2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Privilege Escalation The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. Sign in to read
Impact	CVSS score of 5.5 (MEDIUM). Attack characteristics: local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, user interaction required. Public proof-of-concept exploit code is available. EPSS exploitation probability: 0.28%.
Exploit ScenarioDerived	A local attacker with access to the system could access freed memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application. No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).

No patch listed yet 0.3% exploitation probability (EPSS)

Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.

Alert me

AnalysisAI

readelf in GNU Binutils 2.28 has a use-after-free (specifically read-after-free) error while processing multiple, relocated sections in an MSP430 binary. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Use smart pointers or garbage-collected languages. Set pointers to NULL after freeing. Enable memory sanitizers.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as Use After Free (CWE-416), which allows attackers to access freed memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application. readelf in GNU Binutils 2.28 has a use-after-free (specifically read-after-free) error while processing multiple, relocated sections in an MSP430 binary. This is caused by mishandling of an invalid symbol index, and mishandling of state across invocations. Affected products include: Gnu Binutils.

Know when Binutils gets its next vulnerability

Watch products and get an email when something new is published
Check this CVE against your own stack and servers
Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

Continue with Google Continue with GitHub

No credit card · 7-day full trial

Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 5.5 MEDIUM

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

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

Required

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

None

Integrity

None

Availability

High

DescriptionCVE.org

readelf in GNU Binutils 2.28 has a use-after-free (specifically read-after-free) error while processing multiple, relocated sections in an MSP430 binary. This is caused by mishandling of an invalid symbol index, and mishandling of state across invocations.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score

0.3%

Top 49% exploitable

Exploit

POC

Public exploit code exists

Data Quality

3 sources

Confidence: Low

NVD

CVE.org

EPSS

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue

Severity MEDIUM

CISA KEV No

Public POC Yes

EPSS 0.3%

Patch available No

Active threat No

Deciding rule

MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)

What every action level means

Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.

Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived

Scheduled

Exploitation· derived

Poc

System Exposure· derived

Small

Automatable· derived

Human Impact· derived

Medium

Priority Score

Low Medium High Critical

KEV: 0

EPSS: 0

CVSS: +28

PoC: +20

Weaponized: 0

Threat intel: 0

Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Use After Free HIGH

Use-after-free vulnerabilities occur when a program continues to access memory through a pointer after that memory has been deallocated.

Memory Corruption HIGH

Memory corruption occurs when a program writes data beyond the boundaries of allocated memory regions or accesses memory in unintended ways, violating the integrity of the process's address space.

Information Disclosure MEDIUM

Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.