Null pointer dereference in Linux kernel

Published: 2006-11-22

Risk	Low
Patch available	YES
Number of vulnerabilities	1
CVE-ID	CVE-2006-6056
CWE-ID	CWE-476
Exploitation vector	Local
Public exploit	N/A
Vulnerable software	Linux kernel Operating systems & Components / Operating system
Vendor	Linux Foundation

Security Bulletin

This security bulletin contains one low risk vulnerability.

1) Null pointer dereference

EUVDB-ID: #VU99722

Risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 4.3 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2006-6056

CWE-ID: CWE-476 - NULL Pointer Dereference

Exploit availability: No

Description

The vulnerability allows a local user to perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

Linux kernel 2.6.x up to 2.6.18 and possibly other versions, when SELinux hooks are enabled, allows local users to cause a denial of service (crash) via a malformed file stream that triggers a NULL pointer dereference in the superblock_doinit function, as demonstrated using an HFS filesystem image.

Mitigation

Install update from vendor's repository.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: All versions

CPE2.3

cpe:2.3:o:linux_foundation:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

External links

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

No. This vulnerability can be exploited locally. The attacker should have authentication credentials and successfully authenticate on the system.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.