Description
The host_start function in drivers/usb/chipidea/host.c in the Linux kernel before 3.7.4 does not properly support a certain non-streaming option, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (system crash) by sending a large amount of network traffic through a USB/Ethernet adapter.
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 | 3.8-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | linux | 3.8-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | linux | 3.8-1 | — |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat MRG 2 | kernel-rt +11 | 3.6.11.5-rt37.55.el6rt | RHSA-2013:1264 |
Advisories 1
- RHSA-2013:1264 Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel-rt security and bug fix update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Nov 22, 2025
References
- https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/929473ea05db455ad88cdc081f2adc556b8dc48f
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=959210
- http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=929473ea05db455ad88cdc081f2adc556b8dc48f
- [oss-security] 20130505 Re: CVE request: Linux kernel: chipidea: allow disabling streaming in host mode mailing-list
- http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v3.x/ChangeLog-3.7.4