CVE-2014-8173

kernel: NULL pointer dereference in madvise(MADV_WILLNEED) support

Severity Score

6.2

*CVSS v3

Exploit Likelihood

*EPSS

Affected Versions

*CPE

Public Exploits

*Multiple Sources

Exploited in Wild

*KEV

Decision

*SSVC

Descriptions

The pmd_none_or_trans_huge_or_clear_bad function in include/asm-generic/pgtable.h in the Linux kernel before 3.13 on NUMA systems does not properly determine whether a Page Middle Directory (PMD) entry is a transparent huge-table entry, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and system crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted MADV_WILLNEED madvise system call that leverages the absence of a page-table lock.

La función pmd_none_or_trans_huge_or_clear_bad en include/asm-generic/pgtable.h en el Kernel de Linux anterior a 3.13 en sistemas NUMA no determina adecuadamente si una entrada de direcotrio Page Middle Directory (PMD) es una entrada transparente de huge-table, lo que permite a usuarios locales causar una denegación de servicio (referencia a puntero nulo y caída del sistema) o la posibilidad de tener otro impacto no especificado a través de una llamada al sistema MADV_WILLNEED que se aprovecha de la ausencia del bloqueo de la tabla de páginas.

A NULL pointer dereference flaw was found in the way the Linux kernel's madvise MADV_WILLNEED functionality handled page table locking. A local, unprivileged user could use this flaw to crash the system.

*Credits: N/A

CVSS Scores

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

None

Integrity

None

Availability

High

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Authentication

None

Confidentiality

Complete

Integrity

Complete

Availability

Complete

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Authentication

None

Confidentiality

None

Integrity

None

Availability

Complete

* Common Vulnerability Scoring System

SSVC

Decision:-

Exploitation

Automatable

Tech. Impact

* Organization's Worst-case Scenario

Timeline

2014-10-10 CVE Reserved
2015-03-05 CVE Published
2023-03-08 EPSS Updated
2024-08-06 CVE Updated
---------- Exploited in Wild
---------- KEV Due Date
---------- First Exploit

CWE

CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference

CAPEC

References (7)

URL	Tag	Source
http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=ee53664bda169f519ce3c6a22d378f0b946c8178	Broken Link
https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/ee53664bda169f519ce3c6a22d378f0b946c8178	Third Party Advisory

URL	Date	SRC

URL	Date	SRC

URL	Date	SRC
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2015-04/msg00009.html	2023-12-22
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-0290.html	2023-12-22
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-0694.html	2023-12-22
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1198457	2015-03-17
https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2014-8173	2015-03-17

Affected Vendors, Products, and Versions

Vendor		Product				Version		Other		Status
Vendor	Product	Version	Other	Status	<-- -->	Vendor	Product	Version	Other	Status
Linux Search vendor "Linux"		Linux Kernel Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel"				>= 3.9 < 3.10.76 Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " >= 3.9 < 3.10.76"		-		Affected
Linux Search vendor "Linux"		Linux Kernel Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel"				>= 3.11 < 3.12.43 Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " >= 3.11 < 3.12.43"		-		Affected