ELF header parsing library doesn't check for valid offset

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

not scored

EPSS

No dated EPSS signal available.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

The crate has several unsafe sections that don't perform proper pointer validation. An example can be found in the following function: While this will work perfectly fine if the ELF header is valid, malicious or malformed input can contain a section header offset of an arbitrary size, meaning that the resultant pointer in the unsafe block can point to an artibrary address in the address space of the process. This can result in unpredictable behaviour, and in our fuzz testing, we discovered that it's trivial to cause SIGABRT (signal 6), or SEGV (signal 11). The function should either be marked as unsafe, with a note that the caller is responsible for providing only valid inputs, or it should ideally do the due diligence to ensure that the offset doesn't exceed the bounds of the header (and add additional checks as necessary).

Published by the source

20 Jan 2023, 22:41 UTC

Last modified by the source

20 Jan 2023, 22:41 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 15:33 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-g6pw-999w-j75m

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# Patch Next advisory brief: GHSA-g6pw-999w-j75m

Advisory: ELF header parsing library doesn't check for valid offset
IDs: GHSA-g6pw-999w-j75m
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/ghsa-g6pw-999w-j75m (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 15:33 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Unrated
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: elf_rs 0.3.0. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- crates.io elf_rs: affected < 0.3.0; fixed in 0.3.0

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- crates.io elf_rs: check the installed version with your package manager.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on elf_rs.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-g6pw-999w-j75m (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-g6pw-999w-j75m lists affected ranges: crates.io elf_rs >=0 <0.3.0)

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