#VU99741 Race condition in Linux kernel - CVE-2003-0462

Vulnerability identifier: #VU99741

Vulnerability risk: Low

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

CVE-ID: CVE-2003-0462

CWE-ID: CWE-362

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: Yes

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

Vendor: Linux Foundation

Description

The vulnerability allows a local user to perform service disruption.

A race condition in the way env_start and env_end pointers are initialized in the execve system call and used in fs/proc/base.c on Linux 2.4 allows local users to cause a denial of service (crash).

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's repository.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: All versions

---

External links
https://www.debian.org/security/2004/dsa-358
https://www.debian.org/security/2004/dsa-423
https://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2003-198.html
https://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2003-238.html
https://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2003-239.html
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A309

---

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. However, proof of concept for this vulnerability is available.