CVE-2015-6937
Description
A NULL-pointer dereference vulnerability was discovered in the Linux kernel. The kernel's Reliable Datagram Sockets (RDS) protocol implementation did not verify that an underlying transport existed before creating a connection to a remote server. A local system user could exploit this flaw to crash the system by creating sockets at specific times to trigger a NULL pointer dereference.
Statement
This issue did not affect kernel, kernel-rt, and realtime-kernel versions shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 and Red Hat Enterprise MRG as they do not include the Reliable Datagram Sockets (RDS) protocol implementation.
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).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v2 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 4.9 | 4.9 | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Local | Local | N/A |
| Access Complexity | Low | 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:L/AC:L/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: 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.
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