Vulnerability identifier: #VU13505

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv3.1: 7.9 [CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2018-12714

CWE-ID: CWE-787

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: No

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

Vendor: Linux Foundation

Description

The vulnerability allows a local attacker to gain elevated privileges on the target system.

The vulnerability exists due to the filter-parsing component, as defined in the kernel/trace/trace_events_filter.c source code file of the affected software, could be called without a filter, which would result in an N=0 case. A local attacker can make perf_event_open and mmap system calls that submit malicious input, trigger a slab out-of-bounds write condition in the predicate_parse function and cause the system to crash or execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges.

Successful exploitation of the vulnerability may result in complete system compromise.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: 4.17.1 - 4.17.2, 4.16 - 4.16.18, 4.15 - 4.15.18

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External links
http://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=200019

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