Vulnerability identifier: #VU43051

Vulnerability risk: Medium

CVSSv3.1: 4.6 [CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2013-1772

CWE-ID: CWE-119

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

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

Vendor: Linux Foundation

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote non-authenticated attacker to perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

The log_prefix function in kernel/printk.c in the Linux kernel 3.x before 3.4.33 does not properly remove a prefix string from a syslog header, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (buffer overflow and system crash) by leveraging /dev/kmsg write access and triggering a call_console_drivers function call.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: 3.0 - 3.0.44, 3.1 - 3.1.10, 3.2 - 3.2.30, 3.3 - 3.3.8, 3.4 - 3.4.32

---

External links
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2013-07/msg00018.html
http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v3.x/ChangeLog-3.4.33
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2013/02/26/9
http://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=916075
http://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/ce0030c00f95cf9110d9cdcd41e901e1fb814417

---

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

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