Vulnerability identifier: #VU43042

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-2011-2479

CWE-ID: CWE-399

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 Linux kernel before 2.6.39 does not properly create transparent huge pages in response to a MAP_PRIVATE mmap system call on /dev/zero, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (system crash) via a crafted application.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: 2.6.0 - 2.6.38.8

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External links
http://ftp.osuosl.org/pub/linux/kernel/v2.6/ChangeLog-2.6.39
http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git;a=commit;h=78f11a255749d09025f54d4e2df4fbcb031530e2
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/06/20/14
http://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=714761
http://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/78f11a255749d09025f54d4e2df4fbcb031530e2

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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.