Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HSummary
CVE-2025-69648 is a medium-severity Infinite Loop (CWE-835) vulnerability in Gnu Binutils. Its CVSS base score is 6.2 (Medium).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Application or System Exploitation (T1499.004); ranked at the 7th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2025-208413
Vulnerability Data
GNU Binutils thru 2.45.1 readelf contains a denial-of-service vulnerability when processing a crafted binary with malformed DWARF .debug_rnglists data. A logic flaw in the DWARF parsing path causes readelf to repeatedly print the same warning message without making forward progress,…
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resulting in a non-terminating output loop that requires manual interruption. No evidence of memory corruption or code execution was observed.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Infinite loop DoS in readelf binary parser enables application exploitation for endpoint denial of service via crafted malicious file input.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Directly requires timely patching or replacement of the vulnerable readelf DWARF parser to eliminate the infinite-loop flaw on malformed .debug_rnglists data.
Mandates validation of input data structures, which would reject or safely handle the malformed DWARF range-list sections before the unbounded warning loop is entered.
Malicious-code or content-filtering mechanisms can treat crafted binaries as untrusted input and block or sandbox readelf processing that exhibits the non-terminating behavior.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Security testing can uncover infinite-loop conditions before release.
Secure development life cycle mandates practices that can detect and prevent infinite-loop defects.
Application security requirements can specify loop-termination rules, indirectly reducing the weakness.
Secure coding standards directly address loop termination and prevent infinite loops.
Secure architecture principles encourage designs that avoid unreachable exit conditions.
Change management can require review of loop logic when code is modified.