#VU42403 Input validation error in Linux kernel - CVE-2013-4483

Vulnerability identifier: #VU42403

Vulnerability risk: Medium

CVSSv4.0: 4.6 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Green]

CVE-ID: CVE-2013-4483

CWE-ID: CWE-20

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

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

Vendor: Linux Foundation

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote non-authenticated attacker to perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

The ipc_rcu_putref function in ipc/util.c in the Linux kernel before 3.10 does not properly manage a reference count, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (memory consumption or system crash) via a crafted application.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: 3.0 - 3.0.68, 3.1 - 3.1.10, 3.2 - 3.2.30, 3.3 - 3.3.8, 3.4 - 3.4.32, 3.5.1 - 3.5.7, 3.6 - 3.6.11, 3.7 - 3.7.10, 3.8.0 - 3.8.13, 3.9 - 3.9.10

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External links
https://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git;a=commit;h=6062a8dc0517bce23e3c2f7d2fea5e22411269a3
https://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2014-02/msg00045.html
https://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2014-0285.html
https://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-0284.html
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2013/10/30/4
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1024854
https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/6062a8dc0517bce23e3c2f7d2fea5e22411269a3
https://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v3.x/patch-3.10.bz2

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.