#VU13852 Null pointer dereference in Linux kernel - CVE-2018-13094

Vulnerability identifier: #VU13852

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 5.4 [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:P/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2018-13094

CWE-ID: CWE-476

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
Linux kernel
Operating systems & Components / Operating system

Vendor: Linux Foundation

Description

The vulnerability allows a local attacker to cause DoS condition on the target system.

The vulnerability exists due to NULL pointer dereference in the fs/xfs/libxfs/xfs_attr_leaf.c source code file in the Extended File System (XFS) component when the xfs_da_shrink_inode() function is called with a NULL byte pointer. A local attacker can mount and perform operations on a crafted XFS image, trigger a NULL pointer dereference condition in the xfs_trans_binval() function and cause the service to crash.

Mitigation
Cybersecurity Help is currently unaware of any solutions addressing the vulnerability.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: 4.15.0 rc4 - 4.17.3

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External links
https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=199969

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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. However, proof of concept for this vulnerability is available.