CVE-2017-11462: Double Free

Published Sep 6, 2017
·
Updated

Double free vulnerability in MIT Kerberos 5 (aka krb5) allows attackers to have unspecified impact via vectors involving automatic deletion of security contexts on error.

Other sources

RFC 2744 permits a GSS-API implementation to delete an existing security context on a second or subsequent call to gssinitseccontext() or gssacceptseccontext() if the call results in an error. This API behavior has been found to be dangerous, leading to the possibility of memory errors in some callers. For safety, GSS-API implementations should instead preserve existing security contexts on error until the caller deletes them.

References:

http://krbdev.mit.edu/rt/Ticket/Display.html?id=8598

Upstream patch:

https://github.com/krb5/krb5/commit/56f7b1bc95a2a3eeb420e069e7655fb181ade5cf

Red Hat

Affected Software

15 affected components
MIT Kerberos 5=1.14
MIT Kerberos 5=1.14-alpha1
MIT Kerberos 5=1.14-beta1
MIT Kerberos 5=1.14-beta2
MIT Kerberos 5=1.14.1
MIT Kerberos 5=1.14.2
MIT Kerberos 5=1.14.3
MIT Kerberos 5=1.14.4
MIT Kerberos 5=1.14.5
MIT Kerberos 5=1.15
MIT Kerberos 5=1.15.1
MIT Kerberos 5=1.15.1-beta1
MIT Kerberos 5=1.15.1-beta2
fedoraproject fedora=25
fedoraproject fedora=26

Event History

Sep 6, 2017
Data Sourced
11:38 AM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Sep 13, 2017
CVE Published
via MITRE·04:00 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·04:00 PM
Description
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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2017-11462?

The severity of CVE-2017-11462 is classified as medium impact due to the possibility of unspecified impacts through automatic deletion of security contexts.

2

How do I fix CVE-2017-11462?

To fix CVE-2017-11462, upgrade to the latest patched version of MIT Kerberos 5, specifically versions 1.14.6 or later.

3

Which versions of MIT Kerberos 5 are affected by CVE-2017-11462?

CVE-2017-11462 affects MIT Kerberos 5 versions 1.14.0 to 1.15.1, including various beta versions.

4

Can CVE-2017-11462 lead to remote code execution?

CVE-2017-11462 does not directly lead to remote code execution, but it could potentially allow for an elevation of privileges through the vulnerability.

5

Is CVE-2017-11462 specific to any operating system?

CVE-2017-11462 primarily affects MIT Kerberos 5 implementations on various UNIX-like operating systems that utilize these Kerberos versions.

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