CVE-2018-15572
Description
An issue was found in the way modern x86 microprocessor designs have implemented speculative execution of instructions (a commonly used performance optimization) and prediction of return addresses via Return Stack Buffer (RSB). RSB is a small on chip structure that holds list of return addresses, used to predict function return addresses. An unprivileged attacker could use this flaw to cross the syscall or process boundary and read privileged memory by conducting targeted cache side-channel attacks.
Statement
This issue affects the version of the kernel package as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.
This issue does not affect the versions of the kernel package as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, 7, and Red Hat Enterprise MRG 2.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 is now in Production 3 Phase of the support and maintenance life cycle. 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/.
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 Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 5.6 | 6.5 | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Local | Local | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | High | Low | N/A |
| Privileges Required | Low | Low | N/A |
| User Interaction | None | None | N/A |
| Scope | Changed | Changed | N/A |
| Confidentiality | High | High | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | None | None | N/A |
| Availability Impact | None | None | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
NVD: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Read Application Data
Covert storage channels may provide attackers with important information about the system in question.
Integrity,Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Read Application Data
If these messages or packets are sent with unnecessary data contained within, it may tip off malicious listeners as to the process that created the message. With this information, attackers may learn any number of things, including the hardware platform, operating system, or algorithms used by the sender. This information can be of significant value to the user in launching further attacks.
Acknowledgements
Red Hat would like to thank Chengyu Song (University of California), Christian Rossow (Saarland University), Esmaiel Mohammadian Koruyeh (University of California), Giorgi Maisuradze (Saarland University), Khaled Khasawneh (University of California), and Nael Abu-Ghazaleh (University of California) for reporting this issue.
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