#VU92755 Access of uninitialized pointer in Linux kernel - CVE-2021-38205

Vulnerability identifier: #VU92755

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 1.1 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2021-38205

CWE-ID: CWE-824

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: No

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

Vendor: Linux Foundation

Description

The vulnerability allows a local user to manipulate data.

drivers/net/ethernet/xilinx/xilinx_emaclite.c in the Linux kernel before 5.13.3 makes it easier for attackers to defeat an ASLR protection mechanism because it prints a kernel pointer (i.e., the real IOMEM pointer).

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's repository.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: All versions

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External links
https://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/ChangeLog-5.13.3
https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/d0d62baa7f505bd4c59cd169692ff07ec49dde37
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/10/msg00010.html
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/12/msg00012.html

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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.