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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
CVE-2016-5038
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.

Official resources

Public disclosure is reflected in the supplied NVD/CVE record dated 2017-02-17, with upstream mailing-list references from 2016-05-24 and 2016-05-25 and a fixed-version boundary before 2016-09-23.