CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2010-0436

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

Published: Apr 15, 2010 | Modified: Apr 11, 2025
CVSS 3.x
N/A
Source:
NVD
CVSS 2.x
6.9 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
RedHat/V2
6.8 IMPORTANT
AV:L/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C
RedHat/V3
Ubuntu
MEDIUM

Race condition in backend/ctrl.c in KDM in KDE Software Compilation (SC) 2.2.0 through 4.4.2 allows local users to change the permissions of arbitrary files, and consequently gain privileges, by blocking the removal of a certain directory that contains a control socket, related to improper interaction with ksm.

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
Kde_sc Kde 2.2.0 (including) 2.2.0 (including)
Kde_sc Kde 3.5.10 (including) 3.5.10 (including)
Kde_sc Kde 4.1.2 (including) 4.1.2 (including)
Kde_sc Kde 4.2.2 (including) 4.2.2 (including)
Kde_sc Kde 4.3.0 (including) 4.3.0 (including)
Kde_sc Kde 4.3.1 (including) 4.3.1 (including)
Kde_sc Kde 4.3.4 (including) 4.3.4 (including)
Kde_sc Kde 4.3.5 (including) 4.3.5 (including)
Kde_sc Kde 4.4.0 (including) 4.4.0 (including)
Kde_sc Kde 4.4.1 (including) 4.4.1 (including)
Kde_sc Kde 4.4.2 (including) 4.4.2 (including)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 RedHat kdebase-6:3.3.1-13.el4_8.1 *
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 RedHat kdebase-6:3.5.4-21.el5_5.1 *
Kdebase Ubuntu dapper *
Kdebase Ubuntu hardy *
Kdebase-workspace Ubuntu devel *
Kdebase-workspace Ubuntu hardy *
Kdebase-workspace Ubuntu intrepid *
Kdebase-workspace Ubuntu jaunty *
Kdebase-workspace Ubuntu karmic *

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