CVE-2010-2960

Publication date 8 September 2010

Last updated 25 August 2025

Ubuntu priority

Medium

Why this priority?

Cvss 3 Severity Score

7.8 · High

Score breakdown

Description

The keyctl_session_to_parent function in security/keys/keyctl.c in the Linux kernel 2.6.35.4 and earlier expects that a certain parent session keyring exists, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and system crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a KEYCTL_SESSION_TO_PARENT argument to the keyctl function.

From the Ubuntu Security Team

Tavis Ormandy discovered that the session keyring did not correctly check for its parent. On systems without a default session keyring, a local attacker could exploit this to crash the system, leading to a denial of service.

Read the notes from the security team

Status

Package Ubuntu Release Status
linux 10.10 maverick
Not affected
10.04 LTS lucid
Fixed 2.6.32-25.45
9.10 karmic
Not affected
9.04 jaunty
Not affected
8.04 LTS hardy
Not affected
6.06 LTS dapper Not in release
linux-ec2 10.10 maverick Ignored end of life
10.04 LTS lucid
Fixed 2.6.32-309.18
9.10 karmic
Fixed 2.6.31-307.21
8.04 LTS hardy Not in release
6.06 LTS dapper Not in release
linux-fsl-imx51 10.10 maverick Not in release
10.04 LTS lucid
Not affected
9.10 karmic
Not affected
8.04 LTS hardy Not in release
6.06 LTS dapper Not in release
linux-lts-backport-maverick 10.10 maverick Not in release
10.04 LTS lucid
Fixed 2.6.35-25.44~lucid1
9.10 karmic Not in release
8.04 LTS hardy Not in release
6.06 LTS dapper Not in release
linux-mvl-dove 10.10 maverick
Fixed 2.6.32-416.33
10.04 LTS lucid
Fixed 2.6.32-216.33
9.10 karmic Ignored end of life
8.04 LTS hardy Not in release
6.06 LTS dapper Not in release
linux-source-2.6.15 10.10 maverick Not in release
10.04 LTS lucid Not in release
9.10 karmic Not in release
9.04 jaunty Not in release
8.04 LTS hardy Not in release
6.06 LTS dapper
Not affected
linux-ti-omap4 10.10 maverick
Fixed 2.6.35-903.22
10.04 LTS lucid Not in release
9.10 karmic Not in release
8.04 LTS hardy Not in release
6.06 LTS dapper Not in release

Notes

kees

system crash without pam_keyinit

Patch details

For informational purposes only. We recommend not to cherry-pick updates. How can I get the fixes?

Package Patch details
linux

Severity score breakdown

Parameter Value
Base score 7.8 · High
Attack vector Local
Attack complexity Low
Privileges required Low
User interaction None
Scope Unchanged
Confidentiality High
Integrity impact High
Availability impact High
Vector CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

References

Related Ubuntu Security Notices (USN)

    • USN-1083-1
    • Linux kernel vulnerabilities
    • 3 March 2011
    • USN-1119-1
    • Linux kernel (OMAP4) vulnerabilities
    • 20 April 2011
    • USN-1000-1
    • Linux kernel vulnerabilities
    • 19 October 2010
    • USN-1093-1
    • Linux Kernel vulnerabilities (Marvell Dove)
    • 25 March 2011

Other references