Description
The Linux kernel before 3.3.1, when KVM is used, allows guest OS users to cause a denial of service (host OS crash) by leveraging administrative access to the guest OS, related to the pmd_none_or_clear_bad function and page faults for huge pages.
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 +15 | 2.6.32-220.23.1.el6 | RHSA-2012:0743 |
Show 1 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 6.1 EUS | perf +14 | 2.6.32-131.29.1.el6 | RHSA-2012:1042 |
Advisories 2
- RHSA-2012:0743 Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel security and bug fix update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 28, 2026
- RHSA-2012:1042 Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel security and bug fix update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Nov 22, 2025
References
- RHSA-2012:0743 vendor-advisory
- SUSE-SU-2012:0554 vendor-advisory
- 1027084 vdb-entry
- 48898 third-party-advisory
- [oss-security] 20120315 CVE-2012-1179 kernel: thp: __split_huge_page() mapcount != page_mapcount BUG_ON() mailing-list
- https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/4a1d704194a441bf83c636004a479e01360ec850
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=803793
- 48404 third-party-advisory
- FEDORA-2012-3712 vendor-advisory
- HPSBGN02970 vendor-advisory
- http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v3.x/ChangeLog-3.3.1