CVE-2019-12614
Description
A flaw was found in the way Linux kernel's Dynamic Logical Partitioning (DLPAR) functionality on PowerPC systems handled low memory conditions on device discovery. An attacker who can change the LPAR configuration and incur low memory conditions at the same time could use this flaw to crash the system.
Statement
An attacker needs to be highly privileged to exploit this issue. He either needs to trigger LPAR configuration change (or wait for such event to happen) and incur low memory conditions at the same time. It could be argued that possessing privileges required to exploit this issue could have the same impact as the issue itself.
The indications say that this issue was found by static code analysing tool which looks for memory allocations without failure checks and not actually reproduced on a running system. The CVE assignment also looks automated and following the "better be safe than sorry" approach.
As such, this issue is theoretical in nature and Low impact at best.
Mitigation
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options don't meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.
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 v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 4.1 | 4.1 | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Local | Local | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | High | High | N/A |
| Privileges Required | High | High | N/A |
| User Interaction | None | None | N/A |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged | N/A |
| Confidentiality | None | None | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | None | None | N/A |
| Availability Impact | High | High | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Red Hat CVSS v3 Score Explanation
This is not a Network (AV:L) triggerable issue. Change in configuration and low memory conditions need to happen at the same time (AC:H). Attacker needs to have privileges to trigger low memory conditions and/or configuration change (PR:H).
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