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PatchSiren cyber security CVE debrief

CVE-2016-7410 Libdwarf Project CVE debrief

CVE-2016-7410 affects libdwarf 20160613 and can cause a denial of service through a buffer over-read in _dwarf_read_loc_section while processing a crafted file. The issue is mapped to CWE-125 and carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H). Public references in OSS-Security predate the NVD publication, indicating the issue was discussed before the CVE record was published on 2017-01-23.

Vendor
Libdwarf Project
Product
Libdwarf
CVSS
MEDIUM 5.5
CISA KEV
Not listed in stored evidence
Original CVE published
2017-01-23
Original CVE updated
2026-05-13
Advisory published
2017-01-23
Advisory updated
2026-05-13

Who should care

Teams that build, ship, or operate software using libdwarf to parse DWARF or other potentially untrusted input should care, especially if the 20160613 release is present in their environment.

Technical summary

NVD describes a flaw in the _dwarf_read_loc_section function in dwarf_loc.c where crafted input can lead to a buffer over-read. The weakness is classified as CWE-125 (out-of-bounds read). The NVD CPE entry marks libdwarf 20160613 as vulnerable, and the impact is availability only, consistent with a crash or service disruption rather than documented code execution.

Defensive priority

Medium. The vulnerability requires local user interaction and is availability-impacting only, but it can still disrupt tools or services that ingest untrusted files.

Recommended defensive actions

  • Inventory where libdwarf is bundled or linked, and confirm whether version 20160613 is in use.
  • Prioritize upgrading or replacing the affected libdwarf release with a version confirmed by the vendor or project to be fixed.
  • If immediate upgrading is not possible, reduce exposure by limiting ingestion of untrusted or attacker-controlled files.
  • Add validation and sandboxing around file-processing workflows that depend on libdwarf.
  • Monitor crash reports and parser failures for signs of malformed-input handling issues.

Evidence notes

This debrief is based on the NVD CVE record, which states the affected function (_dwarf_read_loc_section), file (dwarf_loc.c), impact (denial of service via buffer over-read), weakness class (CWE-125), CVSS vector, and vulnerable CPE version (libdwarf 20160613). The supplied references also include OSS-Security posts dated 2016-09-13 and 2016-09-15 plus a SecurityFocus BID entry, which support the public disclosure timeline. No vendor fix advisory or patched version was included in the supplied corpus, so remediation guidance is necessarily general.

Sources and references

Verified primary and authoritative sources

  • CVE-2016-7410 CVE Program record

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-7410

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

  • CVE-2016-7410 NVD vulnerability detail

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-7410

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

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.