CVE-2016-2069
Description
A flaw was discovered in the way the Linux kernel dealt with paging structures. When the kernel invalidated a paging structure that was not in use locally, it could, in principle, race against another CPU that is switching to a process that uses the paging structure in question. A local user could use a thread running with a stale cached virtual->physical translation to potentially escalate their privileges if the translation in question were writable and the physical page got reused for something critical (for example, a page table).
Statement
This issue affects the Linux kernel packages as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5. 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/.
This issue affects the Linux kernel packages as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, 7 and MRG-2. Future Linux kernel updates for the respective releases might address this issue.
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 | 4.9 | 7.4 | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Local | Local | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | High | High | N/A |
| Privileges Required | None | None | N/A |
| User Interaction | None | None | N/A |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged | N/A |
| Confidentiality | Low | High | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | Low | High | N/A |
| Availability Impact | Low | High | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
NVD: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS v2 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 3.7 | 4.4 | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Local | Local | N/A |
| Access Complexity | High | Medium | N/A |
| Authentication | None | None | N/A |
| Confidentiality Impact | Partial | Partial | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | Partial | Partial | N/A |
| Availability Impact | Partial | Partial | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: AV:L/AC:H/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
NVD: AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Access Control
Technical Impact: Gain Privileges or Assume Identity
A user can access restricted functionality and/or sensitive information that may include administrative functionality and user accounts.
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