Description
Linux distributions that have not patched their long-term kernels with https://git.kernel.org/linus/a87938b2e246b81b4fb713edb371a9fa3c5c3c86 (committed on April 14, 2015). This kernel vulnerability was fixed in April 2015 by commit a87938b2e246b81b4fb713edb371a9fa3c5c3c86 (backported to Linux 3.10.77 in May 2015), but it was not recognized as a security threat. With CONFIG_ARCH_BINFMT_ELF_RANDOMIZE_PIE enabled, and a normal top-down address allocation strategy, load_elf_binary() will attempt to map a PIE binary into an address range immediately below mm->mmap_base. Unfortunately, load_elf_ binary() does not take account of the need to allocate sufficient space for the entire binary which means that, while the first PT_LOAD segment is mapped below mm->mmap_base, the subsequent PT_LOAD segment(s) end up being mapped above mm->mmap_base into the are that is supposed to be the "gap" between the stack and the binary.
In plain language
AI Act nowThis is a Linux-kernel bug that can be triggered by a local attacker to crash the system or possibly run code, and it mainly affects servers running older long-term kernels that haven’t included a specific 2015 fix. If your business uses Linux (including CentOS or Red Hat Enterprise Linux) and you haven’t applied kernel updates, you should act.
CVE-2017-1000253 is a kernel memory-mapping weakness in the handling of ELF Position Independent Executables (PIE) when CONFIG_ARCH_BINFMT_ELF_RANDOMIZE_PIE is enabled; under a vulnerable kernel version, local attackers can manipulate how memory is allocated to cause denial of service and potentially gain code execution. KEV confirms it has been used in ransomware campaigns.
What to do now
- Check your Linux kernel version and whether your system has the fix commit included (a87938b2e246b81b4fb713edb371a9fa3c5c3c86).
- If you run a vulnerable kernel, plan an immediate kernel update to the fixed version your distribution provides.
- Verify the kernel is updated to the fixed baseline: linux kernel fixed in 3.2.70.
- If your vendor provides a mitigation/patch but you can’t install it right away, restrict access so no untrusted users can reach the system (especially any path to local execution), and follow your vendor’s mitigation guidance until patched.
CVSS Vector Breakdown
AV:LAttack VectorAC:LAttack ComplexityPR:LPrivileges RequiredUI:NUser InteractionS:UScopeC:HConfidentialityI:HIntegrityA:HAvailabilityWeaknesses
Affected Products
Exploitability
Required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Attack Graph
Click technique nodes for MITRE ATT&CK details · drag to pan · Ctrl/⌘ + scroll to zoom, or go fullscreen.
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniquesReferences
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