CVE-2016-2117: Infoleak
It was reported that due to buffer overflow, it is possible for remote TCP endpoint to trigger the opposite TCP endpoint to write to a socket in sequence which causes the ethernet driver to send arbitrary kernel data over the ethernet interface instead of a portion of the intended packet data.
Initially this issue was believed to be present in a number of mainline drivers in 3.10.x and 4.4.2 vanilla kernel sources. After further investigation it was found that only [atl2] driver (code in drivers/net/ethernet/atheros/atlx/atl2.c) from the list of suspected drivers is vulnerable.
As a result, certain conditions should be met to trigger the issue: - the [atl2] driver and the corresponding network card (which believed to be not so frequently used) should be present on the target system - an application should make such a sequence of calls that a network buffer for the data to be transmitted is scattered - hardware checksumming should be enabled so the packet checksum is correct
The above makes this vulnerability less probable to be hit.
Other sources
The atl2probe function in drivers/net/ethernet/atheros/atlx/atl2.c in the Linux kernel through 4.5.2 incorrectly enables scatter/gather I/O, which allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information from kernel memory by reading packet data.
— Launchpad
Affected Software
Remediation
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2016-2117?
CVE-2016-2117 is a vulnerability in the Linux kernel that allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information from kernel memory.
Which versions of the Linux kernel are affected by CVE-2016-2117?
The Linux kernel versions through 4.5.2 are affected by CVE-2016-2117.
How severe is CVE-2016-2117?
CVE-2016-2117 has a severity level of low.
How can I fix CVE-2016-2117?
To fix CVE-2016-2117, update your Linux kernel to version 4.6~ or higher.
Where can I find more information about CVE-2016-2117?
You can find more information about CVE-2016-2117 at the following references: [1] [2] [3].