# CVE-2020-27545: Null dereference in n/a

> An attacker can cause a denial of service via a crafted object triggering an out-of-bounds read in the libdwarf library.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 15 Apr 2023
- **Updated:** 6 Feb 2025
- **Also known as:** AZL-33327, AZL-42093, DEBIAN-CVE-2020-27545, GHSA-9mh7-9qxg-6fpq, SUSE-SU-2023:2784-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2020-27545

## What is CVE-2020-27545?

CVE-2020-27545 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 15 Apr 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

libdwarf before 20201017 has a one-byte out-of-bounds read because of an invalid pointer dereference via an invalid line table in a crafted object.

Weakness: CWE-763 (Release of Invalid Pointer or Reference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-27545?

It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `libdwarf` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Package Hub 15 SP4 | All versions | 20161124-150000.3.6.1 |
| `libdwarf` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Package Hub 15 SP5 | All versions | 20161124-150000.3.6.1 |
| `libdwarf` | openSUSE:Leap 15.4 | All versions | 20161124-150000.3.6.1 |
| `libdwarf` | openSUSE:Leap 15.5 | All versions | 20161124-150000.3.6.1 |

Products: Libdwarf Project Libdwarf.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-27545?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2020-27545 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-27545 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2017-9052](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-9052/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-9054](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-9054/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-9055](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-9055/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-9558](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-9558/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-9053](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-9053/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-27545 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-27545 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 15 Apr 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-27545 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-27545/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-27545/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-27545
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-27545
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-27545

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-27545/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.