24807 : Linux Kernel x87 Register Information Disclosure
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Timeline
Disclosure Date
2006-04-19

Keywords

 VMSA-2006-0009

Description

 The Linux kernel contains a flaw that may lead to an unauthorized information disclosure. The issue is triggered because the Floating Point Units (FPUs) of the affected processor types do not save and restore the FOP, FID and FPD registers when certain instructions are executed. As a result, Linux does not clear these registers either. When a context switch occurs, a user can potentially read these uncleared registers which could disclose floating point information, resulting in a loss of confidentiality.

Classification

 Location: Local Access Required
Attack Type: Information Disclosure
Impact: Loss of Confidentiality
Exploit: Exploit Unknown
Disclosure: OSVDB Verified

Technical

 The issue is only present on 7th (K7) and 8th (K8) generation AMD64 processors. All other platforms are not affected.

Solution

 Upgrade to version 2.6.16.9 or higher, as it has been reported to fix this vulnerability. An upgrade is required as there are no known workarounds.

Products
Linux
Watch-list
Kernel
Watch-list
 2.6.16.8

References

Tools & Filters
21252 21253 22054 22086 22639 27877

Credit
  • Jan Beulich -

CVSSv2 Score

CVSSv2 Base Score = 2.1
Source: nvd.nist.gov | Generated: 2006-04-21 | Disagree?

Access_vector_0 Access_complexity_2 Authentication_2 Confidentiality_impact_1 Integrity_impact_0 Availability_impact_0

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