CVE-2021-3612
Description
An out-of-bounds memory write flaw was found in the Linux kernel’s joystick devices subsystem, in the way the user calls ioctl JSIOCSBTNMAP. This flaw allows a local user to crash the system or possibly escalate their privileges on the system. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to confidentiality, integrity, as well as system availability.
Statement
This flaw is rated as having a Moderate impact because for the Red Hat Enterprise Linux the patch that made it possible writing memory out of bounds not applied yet, but still before that patch possible read out of bounds. Both in the default configuration of Red Hat Enterprise Linux the joysticks devices driver is disabled, so only privileged local user can enable it.
Mitigation
To mitigate this issue, prevent the module joydev from being loaded. Please see https://access.redhat.com/solutions/41278 for information on how to blacklist a kernel module to prevent it from loading automatically.
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 | 7.8 | 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 | Unchanged | Unchanged | N/A |
| Confidentiality | High | High | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | High | High | N/A |
| Availability Impact | High | High | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/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:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Integrity,Confidentiality,Availability
Technical Impact: Read Memory; Modify Memory; Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands
Buffer overflows often can be used to execute arbitrary code, which is usually outside the scope of a program's implicit security policy. This can often be used to subvert any other security service.
Availability
Technical Impact: Modify Memory; DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart; DoS: Resource Consumption (CPU)
Buffer overflows generally lead to crashes. Other attacks leading to lack of availability are possible, including putting the program into an infinite loop.
Acknowledgements
Red Hat would like to thank Murray McAllister for reporting this issue.
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