CVE-2012-6701
Description
It was found that AIO interface didn't use the proper rw_verify_area() helper function with extended functionality, for example, mandatory locking on the file. Also rw_verify_area() makes extended checks, for example, that the size of the access doesn't cause overflow of the provided offset limits. This integer overflow in fs/aio.c in the Linux kernel before 3.4.1 allows local users to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via a large AIO iovec.
Statement
This issue affects the Linux kernel packages as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5. This has been rated as having Moderate security impact and is not currently planned to be addressed in future updates. For additional information, refer to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Life Cycle: https://access.redhat.com/support/policy/updates/errata/.
This issue affects the Linux kernel packages as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6. Future Linux kernel updates for the respective releases might address this issue.
This issue does not affect the Linux kernel packages as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 and MRG-2 as the corresponding fix is already present.
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 Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 3.6 | 7.2 | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Local | Local | N/A |
| Access Complexity | Low | Low | N/A |
| Authentication | None | None | N/A |
| Confidentiality Impact | Partial | Complete | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | Partial | Complete | N/A |
| Availability Impact | None | Complete | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:N
NVD: AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart; DoS: Resource Consumption (Memory); DoS: Instability
This weakness can generally lead to undefined behavior and therefore crashes. When the calculated result is used for resource allocation, this weakness can cause too many (or too few) resources to be allocated, possibly enabling crashes if the product requests more resources than can be provided.
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 overflow/wraparound 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 the product's implicit security policy.
Availability,Other
Technical Impact: Alter Execution Logic; DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart; DoS: Resource Consumption (CPU)
If the overflow/wraparound occurs in a loop index variable, this could cause the loop to terminate at the wrong time - too early, too late, or not at all (i.e., infinite loops). With too many iterations, some loops could consume too many resources such as memory, file handles, etc., possibly leading to a crash or other DoS.
Access Control
Technical Impact: Bypass Protection Mechanism
If integer values are used in security-critical decisions, such as calculating quotas or allocation limits, integer overflows can be used to cause an incorrect security decision.
Frequently Asked Questions
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