CVE-2011-2203

Description

From CVE.org

The hfs_find_init function in the Linux kernel 2.6 allows local users to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and Oops) by mounting an HFS file system with a malformed MDB extent record.

Statement

This issue did not affect the versions of Linux kernel as shipped in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 and Red Hat Enterprise MRG as they did not provide support for the Hierarchical File System (HFS). This has been addressed in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 via https://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2011-1479.html. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 is now in Production 3 of the maintenance life-cycle, https://access.redhat.com/support/policy/updates/errata/, therefore the fix for this issue is not currently planned to be included in the future updates.

Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details

Info alert:Important note

CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).

CVSS v2 Score Breakdown

Red HatNVDcve.org
Base Score42.1N/A
Attack VectorLocalLocalN/A
Access ComplexityHighLowN/A
AuthenticationNoneNoneN/A
Confidentiality ImpactNoneNoneN/A
Integrity ImpactNoneNoneN/A
Availability ImpactCompletePartialN/A

Vector

Red Hat: AV:L/AC:H/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C

NVD: AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P

Understanding the Weakness (CWE)

Availability

Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart

NULL pointer dereferences usually result in the failure of the process unless exception handling (on some platforms) is available and implemented. Even when exception handling is being used, it can still be very difficult to return the software to a safe state of operation.

Integrity,Confidentiality

Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; Read Memory; Modify Memory

In rare circumstances, when NULL is equivalent to the 0x0 memory address and privileged code can access it, then writing or reading memory is possible, which may lead to code execution.

Acknowledgements

Red Hat would like to thank Clement Lecigne for reporting this issue.

Frequently Asked Questions

Want to get errata notifications? Sign up here.