2.1
CWE
200
Advisory Published
CVE Published
Updated

CVE-2013-0160: Infoleak

First published: Tue Jan 08 2013(Updated: )

A security flaw was found in the way "/dev/ptmx", a character device used to create a pseudo-terminal master (PTM) and slave (PTS) pair, of the Linux kernel, used to transmit data through the PTM when a keystroke was pressed. An unprivileged, local user could use this flaw to determine inter-keystroke timing (measure latency between keystrokes), possibly allowing them to determine effective length of an password being typed in. References: [1] <a href="http://vladz.devzero.fr/013_ptmx-timing.php">http://vladz.devzero.fr/013_ptmx-timing.php</a> [2] <a href="http://users.ece.cmu.edu/~dawnsong/papers/ssh-timing.pdf">http://users.ece.cmu.edu/~dawnsong/papers/ssh-timing.pdf</a> [3] <a href="http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2013/01/07/5">http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2013/01/07/5</a> [4] <a href="https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=797175">https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=797175</a> Reproducers: [5] <a href="http://vladz.devzero.fr/svn/codes/PoC/ptmx-keystroke-latency.c">http://vladz.devzero.fr/svn/codes/PoC/ptmx-keystroke-latency.c</a> (to display latency between keystrokes) [6] <a href="http://vladz.devzero.fr/svn/codes/PoC/ptmx-su-pwdlen.sh">http://vladz.devzero.fr/svn/codes/PoC/ptmx-su-pwdlen.sh</a> (to determine password length) This issue was found by researcher with nickname vladz.

Credit: secalert@redhat.com

Affected SoftwareAffected VersionHow to fix
debian/linux
5.10.223-1
5.10.226-1
6.1.123-1
6.1.128-1
6.12.12-1
6.12.16-1
Linux kernel=3.0-rc1
Linux kernel=3.0-rc2
Linux kernel=3.0-rc3
Linux kernel=3.0-rc4
Linux kernel=3.0-rc5
Linux kernel=3.0-rc6
Linux kernel=3.0-rc7
Linux kernel=3.0.1
Linux kernel=3.0.2
Linux kernel=3.0.3
Linux kernel=3.0.4
Linux kernel=3.0.5
Linux kernel=3.0.6
Linux kernel=3.0.7
Linux kernel=3.0.8
Linux kernel=3.0.9
Linux kernel=3.0.10
Linux kernel=3.0.11
Linux kernel=3.0.12
Linux kernel=3.0.13
Linux kernel=3.0.14
Linux kernel=3.0.15
Linux kernel=3.0.16
Linux kernel=3.0.17
Linux kernel=3.0.18
Linux kernel=3.0.19
Linux kernel=3.0.20
Linux kernel=3.0.21
Linux kernel=3.0.22
Linux kernel=3.0.23
Linux kernel=3.0.24
Linux kernel=3.0.25
Linux kernel=3.0.26
Linux kernel=3.0.27
Linux kernel=3.0.28
Linux kernel=3.0.29
Linux kernel=3.0.30
Linux kernel=3.0.31
Linux kernel=3.0.32
Linux kernel=3.0.33
Linux kernel=3.0.34
Linux kernel=3.0.35
Linux kernel=3.0.36
Linux kernel=3.0.37
Linux kernel=3.0.38
Linux kernel=3.0.39
Linux kernel=3.0.40
Linux kernel=3.0.41
Linux kernel=3.0.42
Linux kernel=3.0.43
Linux kernel=3.0.44
Linux kernel=3.1
Linux kernel=3.1-rc1
Linux kernel=3.1-rc2
Linux kernel=3.1-rc3
Linux kernel=3.1-rc4
Linux kernel=3.1.1
Linux kernel=3.1.2
Linux kernel=3.1.3
Linux kernel=3.1.4
Linux kernel=3.1.5
Linux kernel=3.1.6
Linux kernel=3.1.7
Linux kernel=3.1.8
Linux kernel=3.1.9
Linux kernel=3.1.10
Linux kernel=3.2
Linux kernel=3.2-rc2
Linux kernel=3.2-rc3
Linux kernel=3.2-rc4
Linux kernel=3.2-rc5
Linux kernel=3.2-rc6
Linux kernel=3.2-rc7
Linux kernel=3.2.1
Linux kernel=3.2.2
Linux kernel=3.2.3
Linux kernel=3.2.4
Linux kernel=3.2.5
Linux kernel=3.2.6
Linux kernel=3.2.7
Linux kernel=3.2.8
Linux kernel=3.2.9
Linux kernel=3.2.10
Linux kernel=3.2.11
Linux kernel=3.2.12
Linux kernel=3.2.13
Linux kernel=3.2.14
Linux kernel=3.2.15
Linux kernel=3.2.16
Linux kernel=3.2.17
Linux kernel=3.2.18
Linux kernel=3.2.19
Linux kernel=3.2.20
Linux kernel=3.2.21
Linux kernel=3.2.22
Linux kernel=3.2.23
Linux kernel=3.2.24
Linux kernel=3.2.25
Linux kernel=3.2.26
Linux kernel=3.2.27
Linux kernel=3.2.28
Linux kernel=3.2.29
Linux kernel=3.2.30
Linux kernel=3.3
Linux kernel=3.3-rc1
Linux kernel=3.3-rc2
Linux kernel=3.3-rc3
Linux kernel=3.3-rc4
Linux kernel=3.3-rc5
Linux kernel=3.3-rc6
Linux kernel=3.3-rc7
Linux kernel=3.3.1
Linux kernel=3.3.2
Linux kernel=3.3.3
Linux kernel=3.3.4
Linux kernel=3.3.5
Linux kernel=3.3.6
Linux kernel=3.3.7
Linux kernel=3.3.8
Linux kernel=3.4
Linux kernel=3.4-rc1
Linux kernel=3.4-rc2
Linux kernel=3.4-rc3
Linux kernel=3.4-rc4
Linux kernel=3.4-rc5
Linux kernel=3.4-rc6
Linux kernel=3.4-rc7
Linux kernel=3.4.1
Linux kernel=3.4.2
Linux kernel=3.4.3
Linux kernel=3.4.4
Linux kernel=3.4.5
Linux kernel=3.4.6
Linux kernel=3.4.7
Linux kernel=3.4.8
Linux kernel=3.4.9
Linux kernel=3.4.10
Linux kernel=3.4.11
Linux kernel=3.4.12
Linux kernel=3.4.13
Linux kernel=3.4.14
Linux kernel=3.4.15
Linux kernel=3.4.16
Linux kernel=3.4.17
Linux kernel=3.4.18
Linux kernel=3.4.19
Linux kernel=3.4.20
Linux kernel=3.4.21
Linux kernel=3.4.22
Linux kernel=3.4.23
Linux kernel=3.4.24
Linux kernel=3.5.1
Linux kernel=3.5.2
Linux kernel=3.5.3
Linux kernel=3.5.4
Linux kernel=3.5.5
Linux kernel=3.5.6
Linux kernel=3.5.7
Linux kernel=3.6.9
Linux kernel=3.6.10
Linux kernel=3.6.11
Linux kernel=3.7
Linux kernel=3.7.1
Linux kernel=3.7.2
Linux kernel=3.7.3
Linux kernel=3.7.4
Linux kernel=3.7.5
Linux kernel=3.7.6
Linux kernel=3.7.7
Linux kernel=3.7.8
Linux kernel=3.7.9

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the severity of CVE-2013-0160?

    CVE-2013-0160 has a medium severity rating, as it allows unprivileged local users to potentially disclose sensitive information.

  • How do I fix CVE-2013-0160?

    To fix CVE-2013-0160, upgrade your Linux kernel to a version that includes the patch addressing this vulnerability.

  • What systems are affected by CVE-2013-0160?

    CVE-2013-0160 affects Linux kernel versions 3.0 through 3.4, including various release candidates.

  • Who discovered CVE-2013-0160?

    CVE-2013-0160 was discovered by security researchers who reported it to the respective Linux kernel maintainers.

  • Is CVE-2013-0160 still a risk today?

    While CVE-2013-0160 is an old vulnerability, systems running affected versions of the Linux kernel without patches can still be at risk.

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