medium
4.7
CWE
NVD-CWE-Other
Advisory Published
CVE Published
Updated

CVE-2009-4271

First published: Fri Dec 18 2009(Updated: )

A flaw was reported in the Linux kernel, versions 2.6.9 to 2.6.17, when running on x86_64, where a user could use a regular 32bit process to trigger a kernel panic, without any special privileges. The bug occurs when a 32bit user process triggers a segfault (i.e. de-reference a null-pointer) after having performed a mprotect() to restrict any rwx access on its VDSO page. In version 2.6.18 and on, the internal mechanism to access the VDSO uses the find_vma() wrapper which fixes the problem as a side-effect. The reporter indicates that this only occurs on a 64bit machine with a program compiled in 32bit mode. Acknowledgements: Red Hat would like to thank STMicroelectronics for responsibly reporting this issue.

Credit: secalert@redhat.com

Affected SoftwareAffected VersionHow to fix
Linux Kernel=2.6.17-rc6
Linux Kernel=2.6.11
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.16
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.39
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.9
Linux Kernel=2.6.11.2
Linux Kernel=2.6.15.3
Linux Kernel=2.6.11.10
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.43
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.6
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.8
Linux Kernel=2.6.14.7
Linux Kernel=2.6.13
Linux Kernel=2.6.13.3
Linux Kernel=2.6.11.8
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.34
Linux Kernel=2.6.14.4
Linux Kernel=2.6.14
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.31--rc3
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.18
Linux Kernel=2.6.10
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.45
Linux Kernel=2.6.14.3
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.37
Linux Kernel=2.6.11.6
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.48
Linux Kernel=2.6.11.11
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.13
Linux Kernel=2.6.9-rc1
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.4
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.15
Linux Kernel=2.6.15.6
Linux Kernel=2.6.15.1
Linux Kernel=2.6.11.5
Linux Kernel=2.6.9-rc3
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.1
Linux Kernel=2.6.14.5
Linux Kernel=2.6.13.2
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.32
Linux Kernel=2.6.13.5
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.57
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.49
Linux Kernel=2.6.17
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.11
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.14
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.25
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.21
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.33
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.28
Linux Kernel=2.6.14.1
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.23
Linux Kernel=2.6.12.5
Linux Kernel=2.6.15.7
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.3
Linux Kernel=2.6.17-rc3
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.36
Linux Kernel=2.6.14.6
Linux Kernel=2.6.12.1
Linux Kernel=2.6.11.9
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.46
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.54
Linux Kernel=2.6.13.4
Linux Kernel=2.6.17-rc1
Linux Kernel=2.6.17-rc2
Linux Kernel=2.6.12.2
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.31
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.26
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.62
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.29
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.31--rc5
Linux Kernel=2.6.9-rc2
Linux Kernel=2.6.16
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.51
Linux Kernel=2.6.15.2
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.22
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.58
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.40
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.47
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.42
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.10
Linux Kernel=2.6.12.4
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.41
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.52
Linux Kernel=2.6.11.3
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.24
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.55
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.31--rc2
Linux Kernel=2.6.9-rc4
Linux Kernel=2.6.12.3
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.30
Linux Kernel=2.6.15.4
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.59
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.38
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.17
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.12
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.31--rc1
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.27
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.53
Linux Kernel=2.6.12.6
Linux Kernel=2.6.11.7
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.2
Linux Kernel=2.6.15
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.44
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.35
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.50
Linux Kernel=2.6.14.2
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.61
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.7
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.60
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.56
Linux Kernel=2.6.17-rc4
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.5
Linux Kernel=2.6.11.4
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.19
Linux Kernel=2.6.11.12
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.20
Linux Kernel=2.6.15.5
Linux Kernel=2.6.11.1
Linux Kernel=2.6.16.31--rc4
Linux Kernel=2.6.9
Linux Kernel=2.6.13.1
Linux Kernel=2.6.17-rc5
Linux Kernel=2.6.12

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Reference Links

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the severity of CVE-2009-4271?

    CVE-2009-4271 is classified as a high severity vulnerability that can trigger a kernel panic.

  • How do I fix CVE-2009-4271?

    To fix CVE-2009-4271, you should upgrade your Linux kernel to a version higher than 2.6.17.

  • Who is affected by CVE-2009-4271?

    CVE-2009-4271 affects Linux kernel versions from 2.6.9 to 2.6.17 on x86_64 architectures.

  • What type of attack does CVE-2009-4271 allow?

    CVE-2009-4271 allows an attacker to cause a kernel panic through a regular 32-bit process without needing special privileges.

  • Is there a workaround for CVE-2009-4271?

    Currently, there is no known effective workaround for CVE-2009-4271 other than upgrading the affected kernel versions.

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