CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2012-6638

Uncontrolled Resource Consumption

Published: Feb 15, 2014 | Modified: Nov 07, 2023
CVSS 3.x
N/A
Source:
NVD
CVSS 2.x
7.8 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C
RedHat/V2
6.4 MODERATE
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:P
RedHat/V3
Ubuntu
MEDIUM

The tcp_rcv_state_process function in net/ipv4/tcp_input.c in the Linux kernel before 3.2.24 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (kernel resource consumption) via a flood of SYN+FIN TCP packets, a different vulnerability than CVE-2012-2663.

Weakness

The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource, thereby enabling an actor to influence the amount of resources consumed, eventually leading to the exhaustion of available resources.

Affected Software

Name Vendor Start Version End Version
Linux_kernel Linux * 3.0.38 (excluding)
Linux_kernel Linux 3.1 (including) 3.2.24 (excluding)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 RedHat kernel-0:2.6.18-371.8.1.el5 *
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.9 Extended Update Support RedHat kernel-0:2.6.18-348.27.1.el5 *
Linux Ubuntu lucid *
Linux Ubuntu precise *
Linux Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-armadaxp Ubuntu precise *
Linux-armadaxp Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-aws Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-ec2 Ubuntu lucid *
Linux-ec2 Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-flo Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-fsl-imx51 Ubuntu lucid *
Linux-fsl-imx51 Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-gke Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-goldfish Ubuntu saucy *
Linux-goldfish Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-grouper Ubuntu saucy *
Linux-grouper Ubuntu trusty *
Linux-grouper Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-grouper Ubuntu utopic *
Linux-hwe Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-hwe-edge Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-linaro-omap Ubuntu precise *
Linux-linaro-omap Ubuntu quantal *
Linux-linaro-omap Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-linaro-shared Ubuntu precise *
Linux-linaro-shared Ubuntu quantal *
Linux-linaro-shared Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-linaro-vexpress Ubuntu precise *
Linux-linaro-vexpress Ubuntu quantal *
Linux-linaro-vexpress Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-lts-quantal Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-lts-raring Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-lts-saucy Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-lts-trusty Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-lts-utopic Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-lts-vivid Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-lts-wily Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-lts-xenial Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-maguro Ubuntu saucy *
Linux-maguro Ubuntu trusty *
Linux-maguro Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-mako Ubuntu saucy *
Linux-mako Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-manta Ubuntu saucy *
Linux-manta Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-mvl-dove Ubuntu lucid *
Linux-mvl-dove Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-qcm-msm Ubuntu lucid *
Linux-qcm-msm Ubuntu precise *
Linux-qcm-msm Ubuntu quantal *
Linux-qcm-msm Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-raspi2 Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-raspi2 Ubuntu vivid/ubuntu-core *
Linux-snapdragon Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-ti-omap4 Ubuntu precise *
Linux-ti-omap4 Ubuntu upstream *

Extended Description

Limited resources include memory, file system storage, database connection pool entries, and CPU. If an attacker can trigger the allocation of these limited resources, but the number or size of the resources is not controlled, then the attacker could cause a denial of service that consumes all available resources. This would prevent valid users from accessing the product, and it could potentially have an impact on the surrounding environment. For example, a memory exhaustion attack against an application could slow down the application as well as its host operating system. There are at least three distinct scenarios which can commonly lead to resource exhaustion:

Resource exhaustion problems are often result due to an incorrect implementation of the following situations:

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