CVE-2017-1000253

CVSS 7.8 HIGHEPSS 10.7%● KEVCWE-119

In short

A flaw in how Linux kernels load certain executable files (PIE binaries) can cause memory corruption when address space randomization is enabled. An attacker can exploit this to crash the system or potentially execute arbitrary code.

Technical detail

The vulnerability exists in load_elf_binary() when CONFIG_ARCH_BINFMT_ELF_RANDOMIZE_PIE is enabled; the function fails to account for the total binary size when mapping PT_LOAD segments below mm->mmap_base, allowing subsequent segments to overlap into the stack gap. This constitutes a buffer overflow (CWE-119) requiring local execution context; impact includes denial of service and potential code execution with elevated privileges.

Summary generated and translated by AI from the official description.

Linux distributions that have not patched their long-term kernels with https://git.kernel.org/linus/a87938b2e246b81b4fb713edb371a9fa3c5c3c86 (committed on April 14, 2015). This kernel vulnerability was fixed in April 2015 by commit a87938b2e246b81b4fb713edb371a9fa3c5c3c86 (backported to Linux 3.10.77 in May 2015), but it was not recognized as a security threat. With CONFIG_ARCH_BINFMT_ELF_RANDOMIZE_PIE enabled, and a normal top-down address allocation strategy, load_elf_binary() will attempt to map a PIE binary into an address range immediately below mm->mmap_base. Unfortunately, load_elf_ binary() does not take account of the need to allocate sufficient space for the entire binary which means that, while the first PT_LOAD segment is mapped below mm->mmap_base, the subsequent PT_LOAD segment(s) end up being mapped above mm->mmap_base into the are that is supposed to be the "gap" between the stack and the binary.

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected products

n/a · n/a

public PoCs found — 3

githubgithub.com/RicterZ/PIE-Stack-Clash-CVE-2017-1000253★ 7 githubgithub.com/sxlmnwb/CVE-2017-1000253★ 4 exploitdbwww.exploit-db.com/exploits/42887unverified

⚠ Public resources, to assess the exposure of systems you control or are authorized to test. Test only with authorization.

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References