CVE-2016-7917

Description

The nfnetlink_rcv_batch() function in 'net/netfilter/nfnetlink.c' in the Linux kernel before 4.5 does not check whether a batch message's length field is large enough, which allows local users to obtain sensitive information from kernel memory or cause a denial of service (infinite loop or out-of-bounds read) by leveraging the CAP_NET_ADMIN capability.

Statement

This issue does not affect the Linux kernel packages as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, 6, 7 and Red Hat Enterprise MRG-2 as code with the flaw is not present in the products listed.

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 v3 Score Breakdown

Red HatNVDcve.org
Base Score55N/A
Attack VectorLocalLocalN/A
Attack ComplexityLowLowN/A
Privileges RequiredLowLowN/A
User InteractionRequiredRequiredN/A
ScopeUnchangedUnchangedN/A
ConfidentialityHighHighN/A
Integrity ImpactNoneNoneN/A
Availability ImpactNoneNoneN/A

Vector

Red Hat: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

NVD: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Understanding the Weakness (CWE)

Confidentiality

Technical Impact: Read Memory

An attacker could get secret values such as cryptographic keys, PII, memory addresses, or other information that could be used in additional attacks.

Confidentiality

Technical Impact: Bypass Protection Mechanism

Out-of-bounds memory could contain memory addresses or other information that can be used to bypass ASLR and other protection mechanisms in order to improve the reliability of exploiting a separate weakness for code execution.

Availability

Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart

An attacker could cause a segmentation fault or crash by causing memory to be read outside of the bounds of the buffer. This is especially likely when the code reads a variable amount of data and assumes that a sentinel exists to stop the read operation, such as a NUL in a string.

Other

Technical Impact: Varies by Context

The read operation could produce other undefined or unexpected results.

Frequently Asked Questions

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