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Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls

CVE-2016-3157

Severity High
Score 7.8/10

Summary

The __switch_to function in arch/x86/kernel/process_64.c in the Linux kernel does not properly context-switch IOPL on 64-bit PV Xen guests, which allows local guest OS users to gain privileges, cause a denial of service (guest OS crash), or obtain sensitive information by leveraging I/O port access.

  • LOW
  • LOCAL
  • HIGH
  • UNCHANGED
  • NONE
  • LOW
  • HIGH
  • HIGH

CWE-264 - Permissions Privileges and Access Controls

CWE 264 (permissions, privileges, and access controls) is not a weakness in and of itself, rather it is a category of weaknesses related to the management of permissions, privileges, and other security features used to perform access control. If not addressed, the weaknesses in this category allow attackers to gain privileges for an unintended sphere of control, access sensitive information, and execute arbitrary commands.

References

Advisory Timeline

  • Published