CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2009-4895

Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')

Published: Sep 08, 2010 | Modified: Apr 11, 2025
CVSS 3.x
4.7
MEDIUM
Source:
NVD
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CVSS 2.x
4.7 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C
RedHat/V2
4.9 MODERATE
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C
RedHat/V3
Ubuntu
LOW

Race condition in the tty_fasync function in drivers/char/tty_io.c in the Linux kernel before 2.6.32.6 allows local users to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and system crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via unknown vectors, related to the put_tty_queue and __f_setown functions. NOTE: the vulnerability was addressed in a different way in 2.6.32.9.

Weakness

The product contains a concurrent code sequence that requires temporary, exclusive access to a shared resource, but a timing window exists in which the shared resource can be modified by another code sequence operating concurrently.

Affected Software

Name Vendor Start Version End Version
Linux_kernel Linux * 2.6.32.6 (excluding)
MRG for RHEL-5 RedHat kernel-rt-0:2.6.24.7-149.el5rt *
Linux Ubuntu jaunty *
Linux Ubuntu karmic *
Linux Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-ec2 Ubuntu karmic *
Linux-ec2 Ubuntu lucid *
Linux-ec2 Ubuntu maverick *
Linux-fsl-imx51 Ubuntu karmic *
Linux-fsl-imx51 Ubuntu lucid *
Linux-lts-backport-maverick Ubuntu lucid *

Extended Description

A race condition occurs within concurrent environments, and it is effectively a property of a code sequence. Depending on the context, a code sequence may be in the form of a function call, a small number of instructions, a series of program invocations, etc. A race condition violates these properties, which are closely related:

A race condition exists when an “interfering code sequence” can still access the shared resource, violating exclusivity. The interfering code sequence could be “trusted” or “untrusted.” A trusted interfering code sequence occurs within the product; it cannot be modified by the attacker, and it can only be invoked indirectly. An untrusted interfering code sequence can be authored directly by the attacker, and typically it is external to the vulnerable product.

Potential Mitigations

  • Minimize the usage of shared resources in order to remove as much complexity as possible from the control flow and to reduce the likelihood of unexpected conditions occurring.
  • Additionally, this will minimize the amount of synchronization necessary and may even help to reduce the likelihood of a denial of service where an attacker may be able to repeatedly trigger a critical section (CWE-400).

References