Actively exploited vulnerability
Linux Kernel: memory corruption flaw under attack
CVE-2013-2596 · Linux Kernel Integer Overflow Vulnerability
What is affected
Linux Kernel is found on ordinary personal computers and phones, so this is not only a problem for companies. If you use it and have not updated since the fix was released, you are exposed.
Linux kernel fb_mmap function in drivers/video/fbmem.c contains an integer overflow vulnerability that allows for privilege escalation.
What an attacker can do
This is a memory corruption flaw. It lets an attacker corrupt the program's memory by feeding it specially crafted content: a web page, a file or a network message. The result ranges from a crash to the attacker running their own code.
- How it is reached
- Needs access to the device or a file opened on it
- Access the attacker needs
- A basic user account
- Does the victim have to do something?
- No, works without the victim doing anything
What to do
- Update Linux Kernel now. Open the update or "About" screen, install whatever is offered and restart the app or device, because the fix is not active until you do.
- Turn on automatic updates so the next fix arrives without you having to look for it.
- If your device is too old to receive this update, stop using the affected app for anything sensitive and plan a replacement.
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Vendor advisories and fixes
- git.kernel.orggit.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=fc9bbca8f650e5f738af
How urgent is it
CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on September 15, 2022, which means there is reliable evidence of attacks in the wild. US federal agencies must fix it by October 6, 2022, a deadline that has already passed. That deadline does not bind anyone else, but it shows how seriously the agency rates it.
The EPSS model estimates a 3.2% probability that this flaw will be exploited somewhere in the next 30 days. That is higher than 88% of all scored vulnerabilities.
Its CVSS severity score is 7.8 out of 10 (high), as recorded in the US National Vulnerability Database.
Technical description
Integer overflow in the fb_mmap function in drivers/video/fbmem.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9, as used in a certain Motorola build of Android 4.1.2 and other products, allows local users to create a read-write memory mapping for the entirety of kernel memory, and consequently gain privileges, via crafted /dev/graphics/fb0 mmap2 system calls, as demonstrated by the Motochopper pwn program.