Linux Kernel Page Fault

[Nomad559]

Linux Kernel Page Fault Handler Privilege Escalation

Less critical

O/S
Linux Kernel 2.4.x
Linux Kernel 2.6.x

Description:
Paul Starzetz has reported a vulnerability in the Linux kernel, which can be exploited by malicious, local users to gain escalated privileges.

The vulnerability is caused due to a race condition in the page fault handler when two threads, which share the same virtual memory space, request a stack expansion simultaneously.

Successful exploitation may allow execution of arbitrary code with root privileges on multi-processor systems.

The vulnerability has been reported in versions 2.4 through 2.4.29-rc1 and 2.6 through 2.6.10.

Solution:
Grant only trusted users access to affected systems.

More Advisories
http://secunia.com/advisories