CVE-2021-3592
Description
An invalid pointer initialization issue was found in the SLiRP networking implementation of QEMU. The flaw exists in the bootp_input() function and could occur while processing a udp packet that is smaller than the size of the 'bootp_t' structure. A malicious guest could use this flaw to leak 10 bytes of uninitialized heap memory from the host. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to data confidentiality.
Statement
This flaw affects the versions of SLiRP embedded in qemu-kvm as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 and RHEL Advanced Virtualization. A future update may address this issue. It is worth noting that although qemu-kvm is built with SLiRP networking support, due to its limitations, it is not used by the virtual machine guests by default.
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 | 3.8 | 3.8 | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Local | Local | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | Low | Low | N/A |
| Privileges Required | Low | Low | N/A |
| User Interaction | None | None | N/A |
| Scope | Changed | Changed | N/A |
| Confidentiality | Low | Low | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | None | None | N/A |
| Availability Impact | None | None | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Read Memory
If the uninitialized pointer is used in a read operation, an attacker might be able to read sensitive portions of memory.
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
If the uninitialized pointer references a memory location that is not accessible to the product, or points to a location that is "malformed" (such as NULL) or larger than expected by a read or write operation, then a crash may occur.
Integrity,Confidentiality,Availability
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands
If the uninitialized pointer is used in a function call, or points to unexpected data in a write operation, then code execution may be possible.
Acknowledgements
Red Hat would like to thank Agustin Gianni (GitHub Security Lab) for reporting this issue.
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