Description
The tty_open function in drivers/tty/tty_io.c in the Linux kernel before 3.1.1 mishandles a driver-lookup failure, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and system crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via crafted access to a device file under the /dev/pts directory.
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.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | linux | 3.2.20-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | linux | 3.2.20-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | linux | 3.2.20-1 | — |
| Debian 6.0 | linux-2.6 | 2.6.32-48squeeze12 | DLA-246-1 |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 6 | perf +16 | 2.6.32-504.30.3.el6 | RHSA-2015:1221 |
Advisories 2
- RHSA-2015:1221 Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 29, 2026
- DLA-246-1 linux-2.6 - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
References
- [oss-security] 20150313 Re: CVE request: Linux kernel: tty: kobject reference leakage in tty_open mailing-list
- http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=c290f8358acaeffd8e0c551ddcc24d1206143376
- http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v3.x/ChangeLog-3.1.1
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1201887
- https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/c290f8358acaeffd8e0c551ddcc24d1206143376
- RHSA-2015:1221 vendor-advisory