#VU95683 Incorrect comparison in Linux kernel - CVE-2021-20219

Vulnerability identifier: #VU95683

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-2021-20219

CWE-ID: CWE-697

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 perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

A denial of service vulnerability was found in n_tty_receive_char_special in drivers/tty/n_tty.c of the Linux kernel. In this flaw a local attacker with a normal user privilege could delay the loop (due to a changing ldata->read_head, and a missing sanity check) and cause a threat to the system availability.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's repository.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: All versions

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External links
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1923738

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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.