Resource exhaustion in Linux Kernel

CVE-2017-12190

The bio_map_user_iov and bio_unmap_user functions in block/bio.c in the Linux kernel before 4.13.8 do unbalanced refcounting when a SCSI I/O vector has small consecutive buffers belonging to the same page. The bio_add_pc_page function merges them into one, but the page reference is never dropped. This causes a memory leak and possible system lockup (exploitable against the host OS by a guest OS user, if a SCSI disk is passed through to a virtual machine) due to an out-of-memory condition.

Vulnerability class: DoS (Denial of Service)

EPSS: 0.005 (41.7th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 6.5 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Affected products

  • Linux Linux_kernel
  • N/a Linux Kernel Through V4.14-rc5 — versions Linux kernel through v4.14-rc5

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2017-12190?
CVE-2017-12190 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux Kernel, classified under Uncontrolled Resource Consumption. CVSS score: 6.5/10. Published 2017-11-22.
How severe is CVE-2017-12190?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 6.5 out of 10.