CVE-2020-14385: Medium severity Linux Linux kernel vulnerability

Published Aug 25, 2020
·
Updated

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel before 5.9-rc4. A failure of the file system metadata validator in XFS can cause an inode with a valid, user-creatable extended attribute to be flagged as corrupt. This can lead to the filesystem being shutdown, or otherwise rendered inaccessible until it is remounted, leading to a denial of service. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to system availability.

Other sources

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel. A failure of the file system metadata validator in XFS can cause an inode with a valid, user-creatable extended attribute to be flagged as corrupt. This can lead to the filesystem being shutdown, or otherwise rendered inaccessible until it is remounted, leading to a denial of service. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to system availability.

There is a flaw in the Linux Kernel file system metadata validator in XFS which may cause an inode with a valid, user-creatable extended attribute to be flagged as corrupt, which will shut down the filesystem and render it inaccessible until it is remounted. To trigger this flaw, a specific extended attribute name/value pair must be created. It is possible that after this fail and before reboot would not work mount for other partitions (but still work well until reboot other already mounted partitions and new mount from image file should work too).

This is a user-triggerable denial of service.

A patch to fix the issue: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-xfs/63722af5-2d8d-2455-17ee-988defd3126f@redhat.com/

Red Hat

Affected Software

16 affected componentsFixes available
redhat/kernel-rt<0:3.10.0-1160.11.1.rt56.1145.el7
0:3.10.0-1160.11.1.rt56.1145.el7
redhat/kernel<0:3.10.0-1160.11.1.el7
0:3.10.0-1160.11.1.el7
redhat/kernel-rt<0:4.18.0-193.28.1.rt13.77.el8_2
0:4.18.0-193.28.1.rt13.77.el8_2
redhat/kernel<0:4.18.0-193.28.1.el8_2
0:4.18.0-193.28.1.el8_2
redhat/kernel<0:4.18.0-80.31.1.el8_0
0:4.18.0-80.31.1.el8_0
redhat/kernel<0:4.18.0-147.32.1.el8_1
0:4.18.0-147.32.1.el8_1
Linux Linux kernel<5.9.0
Linux Linux kernel=5.9.0
Linux Linux kernel=5.9.0-rc1
Linux Linux kernel=5.9.0-rc2
Linux Linux kernel=5.9.0-rc3
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=18.04
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=20.04
Debian Debian Linux=9.0
redhat/Linux kernel<5.9
5.9
debian/linux
5.10.223-15.10.262-16.1.176-16.1.180-16.12.94-16.12.101-17.1.8-17.1.8-2

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Upgrade

    Upgrade redhat/kernel-rt to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 0:3.10.0-1160.11.1.rt56.1145.el7
  2. Upgrade

    Upgrade redhat/kernel to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 0:3.10.0-1160.11.1.el7
  3. Upgrade

    Upgrade redhat/kernel-rt to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 0:4.18.0-193.28.1.rt13.77.el8_2
  4. Upgrade

    Upgrade redhat/kernel to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 0:4.18.0-193.28.1.el8_2
  5. Upgrade

    Upgrade redhat/kernel to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 0:4.18.0-80.31.1.el8_0
  6. Upgrade

    Upgrade redhat/kernel to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 0:4.18.0-147.32.1.el8_1
  7. Upgrade

    Upgrade redhat/Linux kernel to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 5.9
  8. Upgrade

    Upgrade debian/linux to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 5.10.223-1Fixed in 5.10.262-1Fixed in 6.1.176-1Fixed in 6.1.180-1Fixed in 6.12.94-1Fixed in 6.12.101-1Fixed in 7.1.8-1Fixed in 7.1.8-2

Event History

Aug 25, 2020
CVE Published
09:00 AM
Sep 2, 2020
Data Sourced
via Red Hat·09:35 AM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Sep 15, 2020
CVE Published
via MITRE·09:14 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·09:14 PM
DescriptionSeverityWeakness
Data Sourced
via NVD·10:15 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software
Jan 11, 2024
Data Sourced
via Launchpad·11:40 PM
Description
Aug 16, 2026
Data Sourced
via Debian·04:30 PM
DescriptionAffected Software
Aug 20, 2026
Data Sourced
via Ubuntu·04:33 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityAffected Software

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2020-14385?

CVE-2020-14385 is classified as a high severity vulnerability due to its potential to render the filesystem inaccessible.

2

How do I fix CVE-2020-14385?

To fix CVE-2020-14385, update to the appropriate kernel version as specified in the vulnerability details.

3

Which systems are affected by CVE-2020-14385?

CVE-2020-14385 affects various versions of the Linux kernel prior to 5.9-rc4, including Red Hat and Debian based systems.

4

What is the impact of CVE-2020-14385?

The impact of CVE-2020-14385 includes potential filesystem shutdowns or making the filesystem inaccessible.

5

Is CVE-2020-14385 remotely exploitable?

CVE-2020-14385 is not specifically identified as remotely exploitable; it typically requires local user privileges to exploit.

Contact

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