#VU3914 Memory leak in linux (Debian package) and Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64 - CVE-2016-0774

Vulnerability identifier: #VU3914

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 5.9 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2016-0774

CWE-ID: CWE-401

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
linux (Debian package)
Operating systems & Components / Operating system package or component
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64
Operating systems & Components / Operating system

Vendor: Debian
Red Hat Inc.

Description
The vulnerability allows a local attacker to cause DoS condition or gain elevated privileges on the target system.

The weakness exists in the (1) pipe_read and (2) pipe_write implementations in fs/pipe.c due to improper consideration of the side effects of failed __copy_to_user_inatomic and __copy_from_user_inatomic calls. A local attacker can trigger memory leak, cause the service to crash or gain root privileges.

Mitigation
Update Linux kernel backport in the linux package to 3.2.73-2+deb7u3 on Debian wheezy and the kernel package to 3.10.0-229.26.2 on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 7.1.

Vulnerable software versions

linux (Debian package): 3.2.73-2+deb7u1 - 3.2.73-2

Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64: 7.0

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External links
https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2016-0774
https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/cve-2016-0774

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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.