Vulnerability in Linux Kernel
CVE-2020-12656
gss_mech_free in net/sunrpc/auth_gss/gss_mech_switch.c in the rpcsec_gss_krb5 implementation in the Linux kernel through 5.6.10 lacks certain domain_release calls, leading to a memory leak. Note: This was disputed with the assertion that the issue does not grant any access not already available. It is a problem that on unloading a specific kernel module some memory is leaked, but loading kernel modules is a privileged operation. A user could also write a kernel module to consume any amount of memory they like and load that replicating the effect of this bug
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 5.5 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.003 (24.2th percentile), scored .
Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 24th percentile — 24.2% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.003 · newest: 0.003 · change: 0.000
Affected products
- Linux Kernel
- Canonical Ubuntu Linux — versions 14.04, 16.04, 18.04
- openSUSE Leap — versions 15.1, 15.2
Weakness classification (CWE)
Public proof-of-concept exploits
References
- bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi (Issue Tracking, Vendor Advisory)
- lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-06/msg00022.html (vendor-advisory, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
- lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-07/msg00008.html (vendor-advisory, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
- usn.ubuntu.com/4483-1/ (vendor-advisory, Third Party Advisory)
- usn.ubuntu.com/4485-1/ (vendor-advisory, Third Party Advisory)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2020-12656?
- CVE-2020-12656 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux Kernel, classified under Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2020-05-05.
- How severe is CVE-2020-12656?
- Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.
- Is CVE-2020-12656 known to be exploited?
- 1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.