Vulnerability identifier: #VU23082

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv3.1: 3.3 [CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N/E:U/RL:O/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2019-18660

CWE-ID: CWE-200

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 gain access to potentially sensitive information.

The vulnerability exists due to absent protection in Linux kernel on powerpc against the Spectre-RSB, related to arch/powerpc/kernel/entry_64.S and arch/powerpc/kernel/security.c. A local user can gain unauthorized access to sensitive information on the system.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: 4.9 - 4.9.203, 4.4.0 - 4.4.203, 4.14 - 4.14.156, 4.19 - 4.19.86, 5.0 - 5.0.21, 5.1 - 5.1.21, 5.2 - 5.2.21, 5.3 - 5.3.18, 5.4 - 5.4.42

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External links
http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v4.x/ChangeLog-4.4.204
http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v4.x/ChangeLog-4.9.204
http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v4.x/ChangeLog-4.19.87
http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v4.x/ChangeLog-4.14.157
http://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/ChangeLog-5.4.1
http://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/ChangeLog-5.3.14
http://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/ChangeLog-5.5
http://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/ChangeLog-5.5

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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.