CVE-2008-3535

Description

From CVE.org

Off-by-one error in the iov_iter_advance function in mm/filemap.c in the Linux kernel before 2.6.27-rc2 allows local users to cause a denial of service (system crash) via a certain sequence of file I/O operations with readv and writev, as demonstrated by testcases/kernel/fs/ftest/ftest03 from the Linux Test Project.

Statement

This issue did not affect the versions of Linux kernel as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1, 3, 4, and 5.

Understanding the Weakness (CWE)

Availability

Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart; DoS: Resource Consumption (CPU); DoS: Resource Consumption (Memory); DoS: Instability

This weakness will generally lead to undefined behavior and therefore crashes. In the case of overflows involving loop index variables, the likelihood of infinite loops is also high.

Integrity

Technical Impact: Modify Memory

If the value in question is important to data (as opposed to flow), simple data corruption has occurred. Also, if the wrap around results in other conditions such as buffer overflows, further memory corruption may occur.

Confidentiality,Availability,Access Control

Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; Bypass Protection Mechanism

This weakness can sometimes trigger buffer overflows which can be used to execute arbitrary code. This is usually outside the scope of a program's implicit security policy.

Frequently Asked Questions

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