Vulnerabilities
Misconfiguration
Compliance
CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2011-1083

Uncontrolled Resource Consumption

Published: Apr 04, 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-2011-1083
CWEhttps://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/400.html

The epoll implementation in the Linux kernel 2.6.37.2 and earlier does not properly traverse a tree of epoll file descriptors, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (CPU consumption) via a crafted application that makes epoll_create and epoll_ctl system calls.

Weakness

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

Affected Software

NameVendorStart VersionEnd Version
Linux_kernelLinux*2.6.37.2 (including)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5RedHatkernel-0:2.6.18-308.el5*
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6RedHatkernel-0:2.6.32-279.el6*
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.2 EUS - Server and Compute Node OnlyRedHatkernel-0:2.6.32-220.24.1.el6*
Red Hat Enterprise MRG 2RedHatkernel-rt-0:3.0.25-rt44.57.el6rt*
LinuxUbuntukarmic*
LinuxUbuntumaverick*
LinuxUbuntunatty*
Linux-armadaxpUbuntuupstream*
Linux-ec2Ubuntukarmic*
Linux-ec2Ubuntumaverick*
Linux-ec2Ubuntuupstream*
Linux-fsl-imx51Ubuntukarmic*
Linux-fsl-imx51Ubuntulucid*
Linux-lts-backport-maverickUbuntulucid*
Linux-lts-backport-maverickUbuntuupstream*
Linux-lts-backport-nattyUbuntulucid*
Linux-lts-backport-nattyUbuntuupstream*
Linux-lts-backport-oneiricUbuntuupstream*
Linux-lts-quantalUbuntuupstream*
Linux-mvl-doveUbuntukarmic*
Linux-mvl-doveUbuntulucid*
Linux-mvl-doveUbuntumaverick*
Linux-ti-omap4Ubuntumaverick*
Linux-ti-omap4Ubuntunatty*
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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