Vulnerability identifier: #VU41532

Vulnerability risk: Low

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

CVE-ID: CVE-2014-0203

CWE-ID: CWE-416

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: No

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

Vendor: Linux Foundation

Description

The vulnerability allows a local authenticated user to perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

The __do_follow_link function in fs/namei.c in the Linux kernel before 2.6.33 does not properly handle the last pathname component during use of certain filesystems, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (incorrect free operations and system crash) via an open system call.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: 2.6.0 - 2.6.32.58

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External links
http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git;a=commit;h=86acdca1b63e6890540fa19495cfc708beff3d8b
http://linux.oracle.com/errata/ELSA-2014-0771.html
http://linux.oracle.com/errata/ELSA-2014-3043.html
http://mirror.linux.org.au/linux/kernel/v2.6/ChangeLog-2.6.33
http://secunia.com/advisories/59262
http://secunia.com/advisories/59309
http://secunia.com/advisories/59406
http://secunia.com/advisories/59560
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/68125
http://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1094363
http://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/86acdca1b63e6890540fa19495cfc708beff3d8b

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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.