CVE-2019-20095: Medium severity linux kernel vulnerability

Published Dec 30, 2019
·
Updated

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's mwifiex driver implementation when connecting to other WiFi devices in "Test Mode." A kernel memory leak can occur if an error condition is met during the parameter negotiation. This issue can lead to a denial of service if multiple error conditions meeting the repeated connection attempts are attempted.

Other sources

mwifiextmcmd in drivers/net/wireless/marvell/mwifiex/cfg80211.c in the Linux kernel before 5.1.6 has some error-handling cases that did not free allocated hostcmd memory, aka CID-003b686ace82. This will cause a memory leak and denial of service.

The Mwifiex driver implementation in the Linux kernel has a memory leak on the error condition when encountering an error condition when in 'Wifi test mode'.

Wifi test mode is a 'region' mode that wireless devices can use that allows for full use of the wifi spectrum disregarding regional laws that prohibit broadcasting in certain ranges.

This requires a connection to another wifi device in "test mode" to create the error condition.

Reference and upstream commit: https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=003b686ace820ce2d635a83f10f2d7f9c147dabc

Red Hat

Affected Software

22 affected componentsFixes available
redhat/kernel-rt<0:3.10.0-1160.rt56.1131.el7
0:3.10.0-1160.rt56.1131.el7
redhat/kernel-alt<0:4.14.0-115.19.1.el7a
0:4.14.0-115.19.1.el7a
redhat/kernel<0:3.10.0-1160.el7
0:3.10.0-1160.el7
Linux Linux kernel<5.1.6
openSUSE Leap=15.1
NetApp Active Iq Unified Manager Vmware Vsphere
NetApp Cloud Backup
NetApp Data Availability Services
NetApp E-Series SANtricity OS Controller>=11.0.0<=11.70.1
NetApp Hci Management Node
NetApp Solidfire
NetApp Steelstore Cloud Integrated Storage
NetApp A700s Firmware
NetApp A700s
NetApp 8300 Firmware
NetApp 8300
NetApp 8700 Firmware
NetApp 8700
NetApp A400 Firmware
NetApp A400
NetApp H610s Firmware
NetApp H610s

Remediation

Information

As connecting to a wireless device is not automatic and initiated by a user, not connecting to rogue access points would prevent this flaw from being abused.

Event History

Dec 30, 2019
CVE Published
12:00 AM
CVE Published
via MITRE·04:39 AM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·04:39 AM
Description
Jan 16, 2020
Data Sourced
via Red Hat·07:00 PM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software

Parent advisories

This vulnerability appears in the following advisories.

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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the vulnerability ID?

The vulnerability ID is CVE-2019-20095.

2

What is the severity level of CVE-2019-20095?

The severity level of CVE-2019-20095 is medium (5.2).

3

Which software versions are affected by CVE-2019-20095?

The affected software versions include Linux kernel versions before 5.1.6, redhat/kernel-rt version 0:3.10.0-1160.rt56.1131.el7, redhat/kernel-alt version 0:4.14.0-115.19.1.el7a, redhat/kernel version 0:3.10.0-1160.el7, and openSUSE Leap version 15.1.

4

How can I fix CVE-2019-20095?

To fix CVE-2019-20095, update your software to a version that is not vulnerable.

5

Where can I find more information about CVE-2019-20095?

You can find more information about CVE-2019-20095 at the following references: [Link 1](https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=003b686ace820ce2d635a83f10f2d7f9c147dabc), [Link 2](https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi/show_bug.cgi?id=1791955), [Link 3](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2020:1493).

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