CVE-2016-2545: Race Condition

Published Feb 24, 2016
·
Updated

ALSA timer instance object has a couple of linked lists and they are unlinked unconditionally at sndtimerstop(). Meanwhile sndtimerinterrupt() unlinks it, but it calls listdel() which leaves the element list itself unchanged. This ends up with unlinking twice, and it was caught by syzkaller fuzzer.

Upstream patch:

http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=ee8413b01045c74340aa13ad5bdf905de32be736

CVE-ID request and assignment:

http://seclists.org/oss-sec/2016/q1/133

http://seclists.org/oss-sec/2016/q1/410

Other sources

The sndtimerinterrupt function in sound/core/timer.c in the Linux kernel before 4.4.1 does not properly maintain a certain linked list, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (race condition and system crash) via a crafted ioctl call.

Launchpad

Affected Software

2 affected componentsFixes available
Linux Linux kernel<=4.4
debian/linux
5.10.223-15.10.234-16.1.129-16.1.135-16.12.22-16.12.25-1

Event History

Feb 24, 2016
Data Sourced
via Red Hat·01:10 PM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Apr 27, 2016
CVE Published
via MITRE·05:00 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·05:00 PM
Description
Jan 11, 2024
Data Sourced
via Launchpad·10:16 PM
Description
Sep 16, 2024
Data Sourced
via Ubuntu·01:12 AM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Apr 28, 2025
Data Sourced
via Debian·03:28 AM
DescriptionAffected Software
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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2016-2545?

The severity of CVE-2016-2545 is low.

2

How does CVE-2016-2545 affect Linux kernel?

CVE-2016-2545 affects the snd_timer_interrupt function in sound/core/timer.c in the Linux kernel before version 4.4.1.

3

What is the impact of CVE-2016-2545?

The impact of CVE-2016-2545 is a denial of service (race condition and system crash) caused by a crafted ioctl call.

4

How can I fix CVE-2016-2545?

To fix CVE-2016-2545, update the Linux kernel to version 4.4.1 or later.

5

Where can I find more information about CVE-2016-2545?

You can find more information about CVE-2016-2545 on the following references: [1] [2] [3]

Contact

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