Spectre mitigations bypass in Linux kernel



Published: 2021-03-29
Risk Low
Patch available YES
Number of vulnerabilities 2
CVE-ID CVE-2020-27170
CVE-2020-27171
CWE-ID CWE-203
CWE-193
Exploitation vector Local
Public exploit N/A
Vulnerable software
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Linux kernel
Operating systems & Components / Operating system

Vendor

Security Bulletin

This security bulletin contains information about 2 vulnerabilities.

1) Observable discrepancy

EUVDB-ID: #VU51774

Risk: Low

CVSSv3.1: 4.8 [CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N/E:U/RL:O/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2020-27170

CWE-ID: CWE-203 - Observable discrepancy

Exploit availability: No

Description

The vulnerability allows a local user to gain access to sensitive information.

The vulnerability exists in kernel/bpf/verifier.c due to kernel performs undesirable out-of-bounds speculation on pointer arithmetic, leading to side-channel attacks that defeat Spectre mitigations. A local user can run a specially crafted program to gain access to sensitive information.

Mitigation

Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: before 5.11.8

External links

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/03/24/4
http://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/ChangeLog-5.11.8
http://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=f232326f6966cf2a1d1db7bc917a4ce5f9f55f76
http://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/FB6LUXPEIRLZH32YXWZVEZAD4ZL6SDK2/
http://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/QRTPQE73ANG7D6M4L4PK5ZQDPO4Y2FVD/
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/03/19/2


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.

2) Off-by-one

EUVDB-ID: #VU51775

Risk: Low

CVSSv3.1: 4.8 [CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N/E:U/RL:O/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2020-27171

CWE-ID: CWE-193 - Off-by-one Error

Exploit availability: No

Description

The vulnerability allows a local user to gain access to sensitive information.

The vulnerability exists due to an off-by-one error in kernel/bpf/verifier.c affecting out-of-bounds speculation on pointer arithmetic, leading to side-channel attacks that defeat Spectre mitigations. A local user can run a specially crafted program to gain access to sensitive information on the system.

Mitigation

Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: before 5.11.8

External links

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/03/24/5
http://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/ChangeLog-5.11.8
http://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/bpf/bpf.git/patch/?id=10d2bb2e6b1d8c4576c56a748f697dbeb8388899
http://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/FB6LUXPEIRLZH32YXWZVEZAD4ZL6SDK2/
http://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/QRTPQE73ANG7D6M4L4PK5ZQDPO4Y2FVD/
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/03/19/3


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.



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