CVE-2017-7979 — The cookie feature in the packet action API implementation in net/sched/act_api
The cookie feature in the packet action API implementation in net/sched/act_api.c in the Linux kernel 4.11.x through 4.11-rc7 mishandles the tb nlattr array, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (uninitialized memory access and refcount underflow, and system hang
Published
2017-04-19T23:59:00.153
Last modified
2026-05-13T00:24:29.033
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
01What is this vulnerability?
The cookie feature in the packet action API implementation in net/sched/act_api.c in the Linux kernel 4.11.x through 4.11-rc7 mishandles the tb nlattr array, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (uninitialized memory access and refcount underflow, and system hang or crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via "tc filter add" commands in certain contexts. NOTE: this does…
02Affected products
No structured affected-product list available — see references below for vendor advisories.
03Active exploitation status
Not currently listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. EPSS is the best forward-looking signal — see the EPSS row above.
04Recommended remediation
- Patch to a fixed version listed in the vendor advisory (see references below).
- Mitigate with WAF rules, network egress filters, or feature flags where the patch is not yet available.
- Hunt historical logs for exploitation indicators — see Detection signatures below.
05Technical details
For the full vendor write-up, exploit chains, and reference implementations, see the references list in section 09.
06Detection signatures
Ask SARA in chat to draft a starting detection for this CVE in your stack of choice.
07Related CVEs
No directly-cited follow-up CVEs in the KB record for this advisory. The references list in section 09 carries the vendor cross-references.
08Timeline
- Published: 2017-04-19T23:59:00.153
- Last modified: 2026-05-13T00:24:29.033
09References
- marc.info — http://marc.info/?l=linux-netdev&m=149200742616349
- marc.info — http://marc.info/?l=linux-netdev&m=149200746116365
- marc.info — http://marc.info/?l=linux-netdev&m=149200746116366
- marc.info — http://marc.info/?l=linux-netdev&m=149251041420194
- marc.info — http://marc.info/?l=linux-netdev&m=149251041420195
- www.securityfocus.com — http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/97969
- bugs.launchpad.net — https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1682368
- bugzilla.proxmox.com — https://bugzilla.proxmox.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1351
- marc.info — http://marc.info/?l=linux-netdev&m=149200742616349
- marc.info — http://marc.info/?l=linux-netdev&m=149200746116365
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