Description
Multiple off-by-one errors in the ext4 subsystem in the Linux kernel before 3.0-rc5 allow local users to cause a denial of service (BUG_ON and system crash) by accessing a sparse file in extent format with a write operation involving a block number corresponding to the largest possible 32-bit unsigned integer.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 6 | perf +14 | 2.6.32-131.12.1.el6 | RHSA-2011:1189 |
| RHEL 5 | kernel +11 | 2.6.18-274.7.1.el5 | RHSA-2011:1386 |
Show 1 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat MRG 2 | kernel-rt +10 | 2.6.33.9-rt31.75.el6rt | RHSA-2011:1253 |
Advisories 3
- RHSA-2011:1386 Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 28, 2026
- RHSA-2011:1253 Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel-rt security and bug fix update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 28, 2026
- RHSA-2011:1189 Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 28, 2026
References
- [oss-security] 20110715 Re: CVE Request -- kernel: ext4: kernel panic when writing data to the last block of sparse file mailing-list
- http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=f17722f917b2f21497deb6edc62fb1683daa08e6
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=722557
- [linux-ext4] 20110603 [PATCH 1/2] ext4: Fix max file size and logical block counting of extent format file mailing-list
- [oss-security] 20110715 CVE Request -- kernel: ext4: kernel panic when writing data to the last block of sparse file mailing-list
- http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v3.0/testing/ChangeLog-3.0-rc5
- 45193 third-party-advisory