CVE-2017-18204

Description

The Linux kernel, before version 4.14.2, is vulnerable to a deadlock caused by fs/ocfs2/file.c:ocfs2_setattr(), as the function does not wait for DIO requests before locking the inode. This can be exploited by local users to cause a subsequent denial of service.

Statement

This issue does not affect the versions of the Linux kernel as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, 6, 7, its real-time kernel, Red Hat Enterprise MRG 2, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 for ARM 64 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 for Power 9 LE, as the code with the flaw is not built and shipped 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 Score5.55.5N/A
Attack VectorLocalLocalN/A
Attack ComplexityLowLowN/A
Privileges RequiredLowLowN/A
User InteractionNoneNoneN/A
ScopeUnchangedUnchangedN/A
ConfidentialityNoneNoneN/A
Integrity ImpactNoneNoneN/A
Availability ImpactHighHighN/A

Vector

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

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

Understanding the Weakness (CWE)

CWE-833

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.

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