CVE-2018-18700: An issue was discovered in cp-demangle.c in GNU libiberty, as distributed in GNU Binutils 2.31

This month

MEDIUM 5.5DOWNGRADE

CVE-2018-18700 is a medium-severity flaw (CVSS 5.5) affecting binutils. Below: why it ranks where it does, which versions are affected, what to do, and the exact commands.

An issue was discovered in cp-demangle.c in GNU libiberty, as distributed in GNU Binutils 2.31. There is a stack consumption vulnerability resulting from infinite recursion in the functions d_name(), d_encoding(), and d_local_name() in cp-demangle.c. Remote attackers could leverage this vulnerability to cause a denial-of-service via an ELF file, as demonstrated by nm.

Why this priority

Public exploit reference

No fix is published yet: follow the downgrade or mitigation steps.

Risk facts

CVSS score	5.5 (Medium)
Attack vector	Local
Attack complexity	Low
Privileges needed	None
User interaction	Required
EPSS exploit chance	1.7% (top 23%)
CISA exploited list	No
Weakness	CWE-835
Published	2018-10-29
Last modified	2026-10-15

Publisher (CNA): MITRE · Vendor: gnu

Last updated 2026-10-15 · Sources: CVE Program, NVD, CISA KEV, EPSS and vendor advisories · How we score

Am I affected?

Timeline

2018-10-29 12:29 UTCPublished CVE record published
2026-10-15 18:17 UTCUpdated Record last modified

gnu binutils DOWNGRADE

Affected: 2.31

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: a release before 2.31

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy binutils || rpm -q binutils || binutils --version

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE to a release before 2.31 (Debian / Ubuntu)

apt-cache madison binutils sudo apt install binutils=<VERSION_BEFORE_2.31> sudo apt-mark hold binutils

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE (RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora)

dnf --showduplicates list binutils sudo dnf downgrade binutils-<VERSION_BEFORE_2.31> sudo dnf versionlock add binutils

Downgrade risk

Downgrading can break dependent software and may reopen older bugs. Read the distro advisory first and test on a non-production host.

After downgrade

Restart the service, and keep the package held until a fixed release ships.

Verify at the official source NVD · CVE Program · Report a problem with this page
Scores and fixes here are computed automatically from those and other public sources. Confirm with the vendor advisory before changing production systems.

Quick answers

How do I fix CVE-2018-18700?

binutils: downgrade or apply the listed mitigation. Exact commands for each OS are on this page.

Is CVE-2018-18700 being exploited?

CVE-2018-18700 is not on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list at the time of the last update. Check again, as this can change.

What does CVE-2018-18700 affect?

CVE-2018-18700 affects binutils. Severity is medium (CVSS 5.5). An issue was discovered in cp-demangle.c in GNU libiberty, as distributed in GNU Binutils 2.31. There is a stack consumption vulnerability resulting from infinite recursion in the functions d_name(), d_encoding(), and d_local_name() in cp-d

How urgent is CVE-2018-18700?

Priority 43/100. Public exploit reference

Related CVEs

CVE-2026-6846 HIGH 7.8 UPGRADE MITIGATE A flaw was found in binutils
CVE-2026-6844 MEDIUM 5.5 MITIGATE MITIGATE A flaw was found in the `readelf` utility of the binutils package
CVE-2026-6845 MEDIUM 5.0 MITIGATE MITIGATE A flaw was found in binutils, specifically within the `readelf` utility
CVE-2025-8224 LOW 3.3 DOWNGRADE A vulnerability has been found in GNU Binutils 2.44 and classified as problematic
CVE-2025-7546 MEDIUM 5.3 DOWNGRADE A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, has been found in GNU Binutils 2.45

References

← Back to latest CVEs