CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2010-3904

Improper Validation of Specified Quantity in Input

Published: Dec 06, 2010 | Modified: Oct 22, 2025
CVSS 3.x
7.8
HIGH
Source:
NVD
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS 2.x
7.2 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
RedHat/V2
7.2 IMPORTANT
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
RedHat/V3
Ubuntu
HIGH
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The rds_page_copy_user function in net/rds/page.c in the Reliable Datagram Sockets (RDS) protocol implementation in the Linux kernel before 2.6.36 does not properly validate addresses obtained from user space, which allows local users to gain privileges via crafted use of the sendmsg and recvmsg system calls.

Weakness

The product receives input that is expected to specify a quantity (such as size or length), but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the quantity has the required properties.

Affected Software

NameVendorStart VersionEnd Version
Linux_kernelLinux*2.6.36 (excluding)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5RedHatkernel-0:2.6.18-194.17.4.el5*
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6RedHatkernel-0:2.6.32-71.7.1.el6*
LinuxUbuntukarmic*
LinuxUbuntulucid*
LinuxUbuntumaverick*
LinuxUbuntuupstream*
Linux-ec2Ubuntukarmic*
Linux-ec2Ubuntulucid*
Linux-ec2Ubuntumaverick*
Linux-fsl-imx51Ubuntukarmic*
Linux-fsl-imx51Ubuntulucid*
Linux-lts-backport-maverickUbuntulucid*
Linux-mvl-doveUbuntukarmic*
Linux-mvl-doveUbuntulucid*
Linux-mvl-doveUbuntumaverick*
Linux-ti-omap4Ubuntumaverick*

Extended Description

Specified quantities include size, length, frequency, price, rate, number of operations, time, and others. Code may rely on specified quantities to allocate resources, perform calculations, control iteration, etc.

Potential Mitigations

  • Assume all input is malicious. Use an “accept known good” input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
  • When performing input validation, consider all potentially relevant properties, including length, type of input, the full range of acceptable values, missing or extra inputs, syntax, consistency across related fields, and conformance to business rules. As an example of business rule logic, “boat” may be syntactically valid because it only contains alphanumeric characters, but it is not valid if the input is only expected to contain colors such as “red” or “blue.”
  • Do not rely exclusively on looking for malicious or malformed inputs. This is likely to miss at least one undesirable input, especially if the code’s environment changes. This can give attackers enough room to bypass the intended validation. However, denylists can be useful for detecting potential attacks or determining which inputs are so malformed that they should be rejected outright.

References