#VU6727 Null pointer dereference in Linux kernel - CVE-2016-8646

Vulnerability identifier: #VU6727

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-2016-8646

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 attacker to cause DoS condition on the target system.

The weakness exists due to NULL pointer dereference in the hash_accept function in crypto/algif_hash.c. A local attacker can trigger use of in-kernel hash algorithms for a socket that has received zero bytes of data and cause a kernel oops.

Successful exploitation of the vulnerability results in denial of service.

Mitigation
Update to version 4.3.6.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: 4.0.1 - 4.0.9, 4.1.1 - 4.1.40, 4.2.0 - 4.2.8, 4.3.1 - 4.3.5

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External links
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=4afa5f9617927453ac04b2...

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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.