CVE-2019-14821
Description
An out-of-bounds access issue was found in the way Linux kernel's KVM hypervisor implements the Coalesced MMIO write operation. It operates on an MMIO ring buffer 'struct kvm_coalesced_mmio' object, wherein write indices 'ring->first' and 'ring->last' value could be supplied by a host user-space process. An unprivileged host user or process with access to '/dev/kvm' device could use this flaw to crash the host kernel, resulting in a denial of service or potentially escalating privileges on the system.
Statement
This issue requires unprivileged users to have access to '/dev/kvm' device. So restricting access to '/dev/kvm' device to known trusted users could limit its exploitation by untrusted users/processes.
Mitigation
Restrict access to the '/dev/kvm' device to trusted users.
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 | 7 | 8.8 | 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 | Unchanged | Changed | N/A |
| Confidentiality | High | High | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | High | High | N/A |
| Availability Impact | High | High | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Integrity
Technical Impact: Modify Memory; Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands
Write operations could cause memory corruption. In some cases, an adversary can modify control data such as return addresses in order to execute unexpected code.
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
Attempting to access out-of-range, invalid, or unauthorized memory could cause the product to crash.
Other
Technical Impact: Unexpected State
Subsequent write operations can produce undefined or unexpected results.
Acknowledgements
Red Hat would like to thank Matt Delco (Google.com) for reporting this issue.
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