CVE-2010-4655: Medium severity Linux Linux kernel vulnerability

Published Jan 25, 2011
·
Updated

Last updated 24 July 2024

Other sources

net/core/ethtool.c in the Linux kernel before 2.6.36 does not initiali ...

Debian

Several other ethtool functions leave heap uncleared (potentially) by drivers. Some interfaces appear safe (eeprom, etc), in that the sizes are well controlled. In some situations (e.g. unchecked error conditions), the heap will remain unchanged in areas before copying back to userspace. Note that these are less of an issue since these all require CAPNETADMIN.

ethtoolgetrxfhindir (intro in a5b6ee29 v2.6.36-rc1) ethtoolgetrxntuple (intro in 15682bc4 v2.6.34-rc1) ethtoolgetregs changed to vmalloc in a77f5db3 v2.6.37-rc1

Upstream commit: http://git.kernel.org/linus/b00916b189d13a615ff05c9242201135992fcda3

Reference: https://lkml.org/lkml/2010/10/7/297

Acknowledgements:

Red Hat would like to thank Kees Cook for reporting this issue.

Red Hat

Affected Software

5 affected components
Linux Linux kernel<2.6.36
VMware ESX=4.1
VMware ESX=4.0
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=8.04
debian/linux-2.6

Event History

Jan 25, 2011
Data Sourced
via Red Hat·04:21 AM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Jul 18, 2011
CVE Published
via MITRE·07:00 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·07:00 PM
Description
Jan 11, 2024
Data Sourced
via Launchpad·09:54 PM
Description
Sep 15, 2024
Data Sourced
via Ubuntu·10:43 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityAffected Software
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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is CVE-2010-4655?

CVE-2010-4655 is a vulnerability in the Linux kernel prior to version 2.6.36 that allows local users to access sensitive information from kernel heap memory through an ethtool ioctl call.

2

What is the severity of CVE-2010-4655?

CVE-2010-4655 has been classified as important due to the potential for local users to exploit the vulnerability and access sensitive data.

3

How do I fix CVE-2010-4655?

To mitigate CVE-2010-4655, users should upgrade to Linux kernel version 2.6.36 or later to ensure that the affected data structures are properly initialized.

4

Who is affected by CVE-2010-4655?

CVE-2010-4655 affects local users with the CAP_NET_ADMIN capability on systems running vulnerable versions of the Linux kernel.

5

What systems are vulnerable to CVE-2010-4655?

Vulnerable systems include those running Linux kernel versions prior to 2.6.36, as well as specific versions of VMware ESX and Ubuntu Linux.

Contact

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