CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2016-9754

Integer Overflow or Wraparound

Published: Jan 05, 2017 | Modified: Apr 12, 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
6.7 IMPORTANT
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Ubuntu
LOW

The ring_buffer_resize function in kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c in the profiling subsystem in the Linux kernel before 4.6.1 mishandles certain integer calculations, which allows local users to gain privileges by writing to the /sys/kernel/debug/tracing/buffer_size_kb file.

Weakness

The product performs a calculation that can produce an integer overflow or wraparound, when the logic assumes that the resulting value will always be larger than the original value. This can introduce other weaknesses when the calculation is used for resource management or execution control.

Affected Software

Name Vendor Start Version End Version
Linux_kernel Linux 3.5 (including) 3.10.102 (excluding)
Linux_kernel Linux 3.11 (including) 3.12.61 (excluding)
Linux_kernel Linux 3.13 (including) 3.14.71 (excluding)
Linux_kernel Linux 3.15 (including) 3.16.37 (excluding)
Linux_kernel Linux 3.17 (including) 3.18.35 (excluding)
Linux_kernel Linux 3.19 (including) 4.1.26 (excluding)
Linux_kernel Linux 4.2 (including) 4.4.12 (excluding)
Linux_kernel Linux 4.5 (including) 4.5.6 (excluding)
Linux_kernel Linux 4.6 (including) 4.6 (including)
Linux Ubuntu esm-infra-legacy/trusty *
Linux Ubuntu esm-infra/xenial *
Linux Ubuntu focal *
Linux Ubuntu precise *
Linux Ubuntu precise/esm *
Linux Ubuntu trusty *
Linux Ubuntu trusty/esm *
Linux Ubuntu upstream *
Linux Ubuntu vivid/ubuntu-core *
Linux Ubuntu xenial *
Linux-armadaxp Ubuntu precise *
Linux-armadaxp Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-aws Ubuntu focal *
Linux-aws Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-aws-5.15 Ubuntu focal *
Linux-aws-5.4 Ubuntu bionic *
Linux-aws-fips Ubuntu trusty *
Linux-aws-fips Ubuntu xenial *
Linux-aws-hwe Ubuntu xenial *
Linux-azure Ubuntu esm-infra/bionic *
Linux-azure Ubuntu focal *
Linux-azure Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-azure-4.15 Ubuntu bionic *
Linux-azure-5.15 Ubuntu focal *
Linux-azure-5.4 Ubuntu bionic *
Linux-azure-6.11 Ubuntu noble *
Linux-azure-fde Ubuntu esm-infra/focal *
Linux-azure-fde Ubuntu focal *
Linux-azure-fde-5.15 Ubuntu esm-infra/focal *
Linux-azure-fde-5.15 Ubuntu focal *
Linux-azure-fips Ubuntu trusty *
Linux-azure-fips Ubuntu xenial *
Linux-bluefield Ubuntu focal *
Linux-euclid Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-flo Ubuntu trusty *
Linux-flo Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-flo Ubuntu vivid/stable-phone-overlay *
Linux-flo Ubuntu xenial *
Linux-flo Ubuntu yakkety *
Linux-gcp Ubuntu esm-infra/bionic *
Linux-gcp Ubuntu focal *
Linux-gcp Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-gcp-4.15 Ubuntu bionic *
Linux-gcp-5.15 Ubuntu focal *
Linux-gcp-5.4 Ubuntu bionic *
Linux-gcp-6.11 Ubuntu noble *
Linux-gcp-fips Ubuntu trusty *
Linux-gcp-fips Ubuntu xenial *
Linux-gke Ubuntu esm-infra/focal *
Linux-gke Ubuntu focal *
Linux-gke Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-gkeop Ubuntu esm-infra/focal *
Linux-gkeop Ubuntu focal *
Linux-goldfish Ubuntu trusty *
Linux-goldfish Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-goldfish Ubuntu xenial *
Linux-goldfish Ubuntu yakkety *
Linux-goldfish Ubuntu zesty *
Linux-grouper Ubuntu trusty *
Linux-grouper Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-hwe Ubuntu esm-infra/bionic *
Linux-hwe Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-hwe-5.15 Ubuntu focal *
Linux-hwe-5.4 Ubuntu bionic *
Linux-hwe-6.11 Ubuntu noble *
Linux-hwe-edge Ubuntu esm-infra/bionic *
Linux-hwe-edge Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-ibm Ubuntu focal *
Linux-ibm-5.15 Ubuntu focal *
Linux-ibm-5.4 Ubuntu bionic *
Linux-intel-iot-realtime Ubuntu jammy *
Linux-intel-iotg-5.15 Ubuntu focal *
Linux-iot Ubuntu focal *
Linux-kvm Ubuntu focal *
Linux-kvm Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-linaro-omap Ubuntu precise *
Linux-linaro-omap Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-linaro-shared Ubuntu precise *
Linux-linaro-shared Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-linaro-vexpress Ubuntu precise *
Linux-linaro-vexpress Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.15 Ubuntu focal *
Linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.11 Ubuntu noble *
Linux-lts-quantal Ubuntu precise *
Linux-lts-quantal Ubuntu precise/esm *
Linux-lts-quantal Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-lts-raring Ubuntu precise *
Linux-lts-raring Ubuntu precise/esm *
Linux-lts-raring Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-lts-saucy Ubuntu precise *
Linux-lts-saucy Ubuntu precise/esm *
Linux-lts-saucy Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-lts-trusty Ubuntu precise *
Linux-lts-trusty Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-lts-utopic Ubuntu trusty *
Linux-lts-utopic Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-lts-vivid Ubuntu trusty *
Linux-lts-vivid Ubuntu trusty/esm *
Linux-lts-vivid Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-lts-wily Ubuntu trusty *
Linux-lts-wily Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-lts-xenial Ubuntu trusty *
Linux-lts-xenial Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-maguro Ubuntu trusty *
Linux-maguro Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-mako Ubuntu trusty *
Linux-mako Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-mako Ubuntu vivid/stable-phone-overlay *
Linux-mako Ubuntu xenial *
Linux-mako Ubuntu yakkety *
Linux-manta Ubuntu trusty *
Linux-manta Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-nvidia-tegra-5.15 Ubuntu focal *
Linux-oem Ubuntu esm-infra/bionic *
Linux-oem Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-oracle Ubuntu bionic *
Linux-oracle Ubuntu focal *
Linux-oracle Ubuntu xenial *
Linux-oracle-5.15 Ubuntu focal *
Linux-oracle-5.4 Ubuntu bionic *
Linux-qcm-msm Ubuntu precise *
Linux-qcm-msm Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-raspi Ubuntu focal *
Linux-raspi-5.4 Ubuntu bionic *
Linux-raspi-realtime Ubuntu noble *
Linux-raspi2 Ubuntu esm-infra/focal *
Linux-raspi2 Ubuntu focal *
Linux-raspi2 Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-raspi2 Ubuntu vivid/ubuntu-core *
Linux-raspi2 Ubuntu xenial *
Linux-realtime Ubuntu jammy *
Linux-realtime Ubuntu noble *
Linux-riscv Ubuntu esm-infra/focal *
Linux-riscv Ubuntu focal *
Linux-riscv Ubuntu jammy *
Linux-riscv Ubuntu noble *
Linux-riscv-5.15 Ubuntu focal *
Linux-snapdragon Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-snapdragon Ubuntu xenial *
Linux-ti-omap4 Ubuntu precise *
Linux-ti-omap4 Ubuntu upstream *
Linux-xilinx-zynqmp Ubuntu focal *

Potential Mitigations

  • Use a language that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
  • If possible, choose a language or compiler that performs automatic bounds checking.
  • Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
  • Use libraries or frameworks that make it easier to handle numbers without unexpected consequences.
  • Examples include safe integer handling packages such as SafeInt (C++) or IntegerLib (C or C++). [REF-106]
  • Perform input validation on any numeric input by ensuring that it is within the expected range. Enforce that the input meets both the minimum and maximum requirements for the expected range.
  • Use unsigned integers where possible. This makes it easier to perform validation for integer overflows. When signed integers are required, ensure that the range check includes minimum values as well as maximum values.
  • Understand the programming language’s underlying representation and how it interacts with numeric calculation (CWE-681). Pay close attention to byte size discrepancies, precision, signed/unsigned distinctions, truncation, conversion and casting between types, “not-a-number” calculations, and how the language handles numbers that are too large or too small for its underlying representation. [REF-7]
  • Also be careful to account for 32-bit, 64-bit, and other potential differences that may affect the numeric representation.

References