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PatchSiren cyber security CVE debrief

CVE-2016-5038 Libdwarf Project CVE debrief

CVE-2016-5038 is a memory-safety issue in libdwarf where crafted DWARF data can trigger an out-of-bounds read in dwarf_get_macro_startend_file (dwarf_macro5.c). NVD classifies the impact as denial of service and maps the weakness to CWE-125. The vulnerable range in NVD ends before libdwarf 2016-09-23, so upgrading to that release or later is the primary remediation.

Vendor
Libdwarf Project
Product
Libdwarf
CVSS
HIGH 7.5
CISA KEV
Not listed in stored evidence
Original CVE published
2017-02-17
Original CVE updated
2026-05-13
Advisory published
2017-02-17
Advisory updated
2026-05-13

Who should care

Teams that build with or distribute libdwarf, and products that parse untrusted DWARF/debug-symbol content, should care most. This is especially relevant for tooling and services that ingest user-supplied binaries, archives, crash dumps, or debug information.

Technical summary

According to NVD and the linked advisories, a crafted string offset for .debug_str can drive dwarf_get_macro_startend_file into an out-of-bounds read. The result is an availability impact (DoS), not a documented code-execution condition in the supplied sources. NVD lists the issue as network-reachable with no privileges or user interaction required (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).

Defensive priority

High for exposed parsing paths. Although the direct effect is denial of service, the attack requires only crafted input and no privileges, so any internet-facing or untrusted-file parsing workflow should treat this as urgent.

Recommended defensive actions

  • Upgrade libdwarf to 20160923 or later, which NVD marks as the first non-vulnerable version boundary.
  • Inventory applications and libraries that embed or depend on libdwarf, then verify the bundled version.
  • Treat external DWARF/debug-symbol data as untrusted input and place parsing behind input validation and process isolation where feasible.
  • If immediate upgrade is not possible, reduce exposure by limiting who can submit files that are parsed by libdwarf-backed components.
  • Track downstream package advisories and rebuild affected products after updating the library.

Evidence notes

The description and weakness mapping come from the supplied NVD record: out-of-bounds read in dwarf_get_macro_startend_file, CWE-125, and a vulnerable version range ending before 2016-09-23. The supplied references support the fix/advisory timeline: the Openwall oss-security post on 2016-05-24 is tagged as Patch, and the linked advisory page on prevanders.net is a third-party advisory/VDB entry. The CVE was published by the source record on 2017-02-17; that publication date should not be confused with the underlying bug's existence or fix timeline.

Sources and references

Verified primary and authoritative sources

  • CVE-2016-5038 CVE Program record

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-5038

    CVE Program - Official CVE Program record with source-provided CVE metadata.

  • CVE-2016-5038 NVD vulnerability detail

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-5038

    NIST National Vulnerability Database - Official NIST NVD detail page and source-specific vulnerability assessment.

Supplemental references

Methodology and review provenance

AI-assisted synthesis based on stored public vulnerability evidence. System validation, approval state, and publication status do not by themselves establish human review of this revision. PatchSiren helps prioritize defensive review and does not prove exposure or remediation on any system.