#VU44036 NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel - CVE-2011-4081

Vulnerability identifier: #VU44036

Vulnerability risk: Medium

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:Green]

CVE-ID: CVE-2011-4081

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 remote attacker to perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

The vulnerability exists due to a NULL pointer dereference error in the Linux kernel before 3.1 allows local users to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and OOPS) or possibly have unspecified other impact by triggering a failed or missing ghash_setkey function call, followed by a (1) ghash_update function call or (2) ghash_final function call, as demonstrated by a write operation on an AF_ALG socket. A remote attacker can perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

Mitigation
Update to version 3.1.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: 3.0 - 3.0.101

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External links
https://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git;a=commit;h=7ed47b7d142ec99ad6880bbbec51e9f12b3af74c
https://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v3.x/ChangeLog-3.1
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/10/27/2
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=749475
https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/7ed47b7d142ec99ad6880bbbec51e9f12b3af74c

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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.