#VU43986 Information disclosure in Linux kernel - CVE-2011-2494

Vulnerability identifier: #VU43986

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 1.2 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2011-2494

CWE-ID: CWE-200

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 gain access to sensitive information.

kernel/taskstats.c in the Linux kernel before 3.1 allows local users to obtain sensitive I/O statistics by sending taskstats commands to a netlink socket, as demonstrated by discovering the length of another user's password.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: 3.0.1 - 3.0.33

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External links
https://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git;a=commit;h=1a51410abe7d0ee4b1d112780f46df87d3621043
https://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2012-04/msg00021.html
https://secunia.com/advisories/48898
https://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v3.x/ChangeLog-3.1
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/06/27/1
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=716842
https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/1a51410abe7d0ee4b1d112780f46df87d3621043

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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.