Vulnerabilities
Misconfiguration
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CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2010-4243

Uncontrolled Resource Consumption

Published: Jan 22, 2011 | Modified: Apr 11, 2025
CVSS 3.x
N/A
Source:
NVD
CVSS 2.x
4.9 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/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
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Additional information
NVDhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2010-4243
CWEhttps://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/400.html

fs/exec.c in the Linux kernel before 2.6.37 does not enable the OOM Killer to assess use of stack memory by arrays representing the (1) arguments and (2) environment, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (memory consumption) via a crafted exec system call, aka an OOM dodging issue, a related issue to CVE-2010-3858.

Weakness

The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.

Affected Software

NameVendorStart VersionEnd Version
Linux_kernelLinux*2.6.37 (excluding)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5RedHatkernel-0:2.6.18-238.el5*
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6RedHatkernel-0:2.6.32-71.18.1.el6*
Red Hat Enterprise MRG 2RedHatkernel-rt-0:2.6.33.9-rt31.75.el6rt*
LinuxUbuntukarmic*
LinuxUbuntulucid*
LinuxUbuntumaverick*
LinuxUbuntunatty*
LinuxUbuntuupstream*
Linux-ec2Ubuntukarmic*
Linux-ec2Ubuntulucid*
Linux-ec2Ubuntumaverick*
Linux-ec2Ubuntuupstream*
Linux-fsl-imx51Ubuntukarmic*
Linux-fsl-imx51Ubuntulucid*
Linux-fsl-imx51Ubuntuupstream*
Linux-lts-backport-maverickUbuntulucid*
Linux-lts-backport-maverickUbuntuupstream*
Linux-lts-backport-nattyUbuntuupstream*
Linux-mvl-doveUbuntukarmic*
Linux-mvl-doveUbuntulucid*
Linux-mvl-doveUbuntumaverick*
Linux-mvl-doveUbuntuupstream*
Linux-source-2.6.15Ubuntuupstream*
Linux-ti-omap4Ubuntumaverick*
Linux-ti-omap4Ubuntuupstream*

Potential Mitigations

  • Mitigation of resource exhaustion attacks requires that the target system either:

  • The first of these solutions is an issue in itself though, since it may allow attackers to prevent the use of the system by a particular valid user. If the attacker impersonates the valid user, they may be able to prevent the user from accessing the server in question.

  • The second solution is simply difficult to effectively institute – and even when properly done, it does not provide a full solution. It simply makes the attack require more resources on the part of the attacker.

References

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