Linux kernel dnotify privilege escalation

linux-kernel-dnotify-privilege-escalation (42131) The risk level is classified as HighHigh Risk

Description:

Linux kernel could allow a local attacker to gain elevated privileges on the system, caused by a race condition error in the dnotify subsystem between the fcntl() and close() calls. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to gain root privileges or cause the system to crash.

Platforms Affected:

  • Canonical, Ubuntu 6.06 LTS
  • Canonical, Ubuntu 7.04
  • Canonical, Ubuntu 7.10
  • Canonical, Ubuntu 8.04 LTS
  • Debian, Debian Linux 4.0
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.0 test4
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.0 test9
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.0 test7
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.0 test6
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.0 test5
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.0 test8
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.0 test11
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.0 test2
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.0 test9-cvs
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.0 test3
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.10
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.11.10
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.11.12
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.11.4
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.11.5
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.11.6
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.11.7
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.11.8
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.11.9
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.15
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.18
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.20
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.20.1
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.20.11
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.20.13
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.20.2
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.20.3
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.21
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.21 rc7
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.21 rc6
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.21 rc5
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.21 rc4
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.21 rc3
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.23.1
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.23.14
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.23.9
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.24 rc2
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.3
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.4
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.5
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.6
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.6 rc1
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.7
  • Linux, Kernel 2.6.8
  • MandrakeSoft, Mandrake Linux 2007.1
  • MandrakeSoft, Mandrake Linux 2007.1 X86_64
  • MandrakeSoft, Mandrake Linux 2008.0 X86_64
  • MandrakeSoft, Mandrake Linux 2008.0
  • MandrakeSoft, Mandrake Linux 2008.1
  • MandrakeSoft, Mandrake Linux 2008.1 X86_64
  • MandrakeSoft, Mandrake Linux Corporate Server 3.0 X86_64
  • MandrakeSoft, Mandrake Linux Corporate Server 3.0
  • MandrakeSoft, Mandrake Linux Corporate Server 4.0 X86_64
  • MandrakeSoft, Mandrake Linux Corporate Server 4.0
  • MandrakeSoft, Mandrake Multi Network Firewall 2.0
  • Novell, Linux Desktop 9
  • Novell, Linux POS 9
  • Novell, OpenSUSE 10.2
  • Novell, OpenSUSE 10.3
  • Novell, SLE SDK 10 SP1
  • Novell, SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 SP1 DEBUGINFO
  • Novell, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 SP1
  • Novell, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP1
  • RedHat, Enterprise Linux 3 WS
  • RedHat, Enterprise Linux 3 ES
  • RedHat, Enterprise Linux 3 AS
  • RedHat, Enterprise Linux 3 Desktop
  • RedHat, Enterprise Linux 4 WS
  • RedHat, Enterprise Linux 4 ES
  • RedHat, Enterprise Linux 4 Desktop
  • RedHat, Enterprise Linux 4 AS
  • RedHat, Enterprise Linux 5
  • RedHat, Enterprise Linux 5 Client
  • SuSE, SuSE SLES 9
  • VMware, ESX Server 3.0.1
  • VMware, ESX Server 3.0.2
  • VMware, ESX Server 3.5

Remedy:

Upgrade to the latest version of Linux kernel (2.6.25.1 or later), available from The Linux Kernel Archives Web site. See References.

For other distributions:
Apply the appropriate update for your system. See References.

Consequences:

Gain Privileges

References:

Reported:

May 01, 2008

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