CVE-2014-8171
Description
It was found that the Linux kernel memory resource controller's (memcg) handling of OOM (out of memory) conditions could lead to deadlocks. An attacker able to continuously spawn new processes within a single memory-constrained cgroup during an OOM event could use this flaw to lock up the system.
Statement
This issue does not affect the Linux kernel versions as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5. This issue does affect the Linux kernel versions as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, 7 and Red Hat Enterprise MRG 2. Future updates may address this issue in the respective releases.
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 | 5.7 | 4.9 | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Adjacent Network | Local | N/A |
| Access Complexity | Medium | Low | N/A |
| Authentication | None | None | N/A |
| Confidentiality Impact | None | None | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | None | None | N/A |
| Availability Impact | Complete | Complete | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: AV:A/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C
NVD: AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Resource Consumption (CPU); DoS: Resource Consumption (Other); DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
Each thread of execution will "hang" and prevent tasks from completing. In some cases, CPU consumption may occur if a lock check occurs in a tight loop.
Frequently Asked Questions
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