CVE-2019-10639

Description

The Linux kernel 4.x (starting from 4.1) and 5.x before 5.0.8 allows Information Exposure (partial kernel address disclosure), leading to a KASLR bypass. Specifically, it is possible to extract the KASLR kernel image offset using the IP ID values the kernel produces for connection-less protocols (e.g., UDP and ICMP). When such traffic is sent to multiple destination IP addresses, it is possible to obtain hash collisions (of indices to the counter array) and thereby obtain the hashing key (via enumeration). This key contains enough bits from a kernel address (of a static variable) so when the key is extracted (via enumeration), the offset of the kernel image is exposed. This attack can be carried out remotely, by the attacker forcing the target device to send UDP or ICMP (or certain other) traffic to attacker-controlled IP addresses. Forcing a server to send UDP traffic is trivial if the server is a DNS server. ICMP traffic is trivial if the server answers ICMP Echo requests (ping). For client targets, if the target visits the attacker's web page, then WebRTC or gQUIC can be used to force UDP traffic to attacker-controlled IP addresses. NOTE: this attack against KASLR became viable in 4.1 because IP ID generation was changed to have a dependency on an address associated with a network namespace.

Category

7.5
CVSS
Severity: High
CVSS 3.0 •
CVSS 2.0 •
EPSS 1.04% Top 25%
Vendor Advisory opensuse.org Vendor Advisory opensuse.org Vendor Advisory debian.org Vendor Advisory ubuntu.com Vendor Advisory ubuntu.com Vendor Advisory kernel.org Vendor Advisory kernel.org
Affected: n/a n/a
Published at:
Updated at:

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the severity of CVE-2019-10639?
CVE-2019-10639 has been scored as a high severity vulnerability.
How to fix CVE-2019-10639?
To fix CVE-2019-10639, make sure you are using an up-to-date version of the affected component(s) by checking the vendor release notes. As for now, there are no other specific guidelines available.
Is CVE-2019-10639 being actively exploited in the wild?
It is possible that CVE-2019-10639 is being exploited or will be exploited in a near future based on public information. According to its EPSS score, there is a ~1% probability that this vulnerability will be exploited by malicious actors in the next 30 days.
This platform uses data from the NIST NVD, MITRE CVE, MITRE CWE, First.org and CISA KEV but is not endorsed or certified by these entities. CVE is a registred trademark of the MITRE Corporation and the authoritative source of CVE content is MITRE's CVE web site. CWE is a registred trademark of the MITRE Corporation and the authoritative source of CWE content is MITRE's CWE web site.
© 2025 Under My Watch. All Rights Reserved.