An issue was discovered in the Linux kernel through 4.17.3.
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.0 · NVD. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-190 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
An issue was discovered in the Linux kernel through 4.17.3. An Integer Overflow in kernel/time/posix-timers.c in the POSIX timer code is caused by the way the overrun accounting works. Depending on interval and expiry time values, the overrun can be larger than INT_MAX, but the accounting is int based. This basically makes the accounting values, which are visible to user space via timer_getoverrun(2) and siginfo::si_overrun, random. For example, a local user can cause a denial of service (signed integer overflow) via crafted mmap, futex, timer_create, and timer_settime system calls.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | all versions | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- — Vendor— Affected all versions Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 6
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | up to 4.17.3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 8.0 | Vulnerable | Debian |
| cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:12.04:*:*:*:esm:*:*:* | 12.04 | Vulnerable | Canonical |
| cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:14.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* | 14.04 | Vulnerable | Canonical |
| cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* | 16.04 | Vulnerable | Canonical |
| cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* | 18.04 | Vulnerable | Canonical |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions up to 4.17.3 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.0 Vulnerable ·Debian
- cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:12.04:*:*:*:esm:*:*:* Versions 12.04 Vulnerable ·Canonical
- cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:14.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* Versions 14.04 Vulnerable ·Canonical
- cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* Versions 16.04 Vulnerable ·Canonical
- cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* Versions 18.04 Vulnerable ·Canonical
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Not affected: 5 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise MRG 2
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2018-12896
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-752f-2m5c-7473
- 2026-10-23 EPSS moved to the 50th–90th percentile
References
Advisory 11
- https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=200189
- USN-3848-2
- USN-3847-1
- USN-3847-2
- USN-3849-1
- USN-3849-2
- USN-3848-1
- USN-3847-3
- [debian-lts-announce] 20190315 [SECURITY] [DLA 1715-1] linux-4.9 security update
- [debian-lts-announce] 20190327 [SECURITY] [DLA 1731-1] linux security update
- [debian-lts-announce] 20190401 [SECURITY] [DLA 1731-2] linux regression update
Sources
- CVE-2018-12896 · CVE Program
- CVE-2018-12896 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-752f-2m5c-7473 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2018-12896 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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