CVE-2011-2689: Medium severity Linux Linux kernel vulnerability
Last updated 24 July 2024
Other sources
The GFS2 fallocate code chooses a target size to for allocating chunks of space. Whenever it can't find any resource groups with enough space free, it halves its target. Since this target is in bytes, eventually it will no longer be a multiple of blksize. As long as there is more space available in the resource group than the target, this isn't a problem, since gfs2 will use the actual space available, which is always a multiple of blksize. However, when gfs couldn't fallocate a bigger chunk than the target, it was using the non-blksize aligned number. This caused a BUG in later code that required blksize aligned offsets.
Upstream commit: http://git.kernel.org/linus/6905d9e4dda6112f007e9090bca80507da158e63
— Red Hat
The gfs2fallocate function in fs/gfs2/file.c in the Linux kernel before 3.0-rc1 does not ensure that the size of a chunk allocation is a multiple of the block size, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (BUG and system crash) by arranging for all resource groups to have too little free space.
— Launchpad
Affected Software
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Upgrade
Upgrade
Linux kernelto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 3.0-rc1Patch 6905d9e4dda6112f007e9090bca80507da158e63
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the severity of CVE-2011-2689?
The severity of CVE-2011-2689 is categorized as medium, indicating a moderate risk of exploitation.
How do I fix CVE-2011-2689?
To fix CVE-2011-2689, update your Linux kernel to a version later than 3.0 or apply relevant security patches.
What systems are affected by CVE-2011-2689?
CVE-2011-2689 affects various versions of the Linux kernel, specifically those up to 3.0.
What is the vulnerability type of CVE-2011-2689?
CVE-2011-2689 is classified as a resource management vulnerability where allocation strategies can lead to inefficient space handling.
Can CVE-2011-2689 be exploited remotely?
CVE-2011-2689 is not generally considered to be remotely exploitable but poses a risk in environments where untrusted users have access.