#VU81662 NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel - CVE-2023-3866

Vulnerability identifier: #VU81662

Vulnerability risk: Medium

CVSSv4.0: 6.6 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Green]

CVE-ID: CVE-2023-3866

CWE-ID: CWE-476

Exploitation vector: Network

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 within the void __handle_ksmbd_work() function in fs/smb/server/server.c when handling chained requests. A remote attacker can send specially crafted data to the ksmbd and perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: All versions

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External links
https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-23-979/
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=5005bcb4219156f1bf7587b185080ec1da08518e

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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.