#VU20490 NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel - CVE-2019-12614

Vulnerability identifier: #VU20490

Vulnerability 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-2019-12614

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 user to perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

The vulnerability exists due to a NULL pointer dreference error in dlpar_parse_cc_property in arch/powerpc/platforms/pseries/dlpar.c due to  kstrdup of prop->name. A local user can perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: 5.1.1 - 5.1.6

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External links
https://www.securityfocus.com/bid/108550
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/powerpc/linux.git/commit/?id=efa9ace68e487ddd29c2b4d6dd23242158f1f607
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/MDURACJVGIBIYBSGDZJTRDPX46H5WPZW/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/OBJHGQXA4PQ5EOGCOXEH3KFDNVZ2I4X7/
https://lkml.org/lkml/2019/6/3/526

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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.