Vulnerability Note VU#301156

Overview

A vulnerability in the linux kernel may permit a local user to gain elevated privileges.

Description

Versions of the Linux kernel prior to 2.4.23 an integer overflow vulnerability in the brk system call (do_brk() function). This vulnerability may be exploited by a local user to gain elevated or root privileges. An exploit for this vulnerability exists, and has been used to compromise systems.

Impact

A local user on the system can exploit this vulnerability to gain access to the kernel address space and gain elevated privileges.

Solution

This vulnerability has been resolved in versions 2.4.23 for the 2.4 kernel tree, and the 2.6.0-test6 kernel tree. Please check the "Systems Affected" section for vendor-specific releases.

Systems Affected (Learn More)

Vendor	Status	Date Notified	Date Updated
Astaro	Affected	-	02 Dec 2003
Debian	Affected	-	02 Dec 2003
LINUX	Affected	-	02 Dec 2003
MandrakeSoft	Affected	-	02 Dec 2003
Red Hat Inc.	Affected	-	02 Dec 2003
Slackware	Affected	-	02 Dec 2003
Trustix	Affected	-	02 Dec 2003

If you are a vendor and your product is affected, let us know.

CVSS Metrics (Learn More)

Group	Score	Vector
Base	N/A	N/A
Temporal	N/A	N/A
Environmental	N/A	N/A

References

• http://www.secunia.com/advisories/10328/
• http://www.secunia.com/advisories/10329/
• http://www.secunia.com/advisories/10333/
• http://www.secunia.com/advisories/10330/
• http://www.secunia.com/advisories/10338/

Credit

Thanks to Wichert Akkerman for reporting this vulnerability.

This document was written by Jason A Rafail.

Other Information

• CVE IDs: CAN-2003-0961
• Date Public: 01 Dec 2003
• Date First Published: 02 Dec 2003
• Date Last Updated: 02 Dec 2003
• Severity Metric: 23.62
• Document Revision: 9