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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2014-8159

MEDIUM · 6.9 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-03-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.2.69 / 3.4.108 or later.
See remediation →
74/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The InfiniBand (IB) implementation in the Linux kernel package before 2.6.32-504.12.2 on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 6 does not properly restrict use of User Verbs for registration of memory regions, which allows local users to access arbitrary physical memory locations, and consequently cause a denial of service (system crash) or gain privileges, by leveraging permissions on a uverbs device under /dev/infiniband/.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

The InfiniBand (IB) implementation in RHEL 6 kernels before 2.6.32-504.12.2 lacks proper restrictions on User Verbs for memory region registration, allowing local users with access to /dev/infiniband/ uverbs devices to read/write arbitrary physical memory locations, leading to potential privilege escalation or denial of service.

MitigationApply the kernel update (2.6.32-504.12.2 or later) and restrict access to /dev/infiniband/ uverbs devices to trusted local users only.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 2.6.12, < 3.2.69>= 3.3, < 3.4.108>= 3.5, < 3.10.75>= 3.11, < 3.12.41>= 3.13, < 3.14.39>= 3.15, < 3.16.35>= 3.17, < 3.18.13>= 3.19, < 3.19.5
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 10.04= 12.04= 14.04= 14.10
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 7.0= 8.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check kernel version
    Run 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version' to get the running kernel version
    Affected if The kernel version falls within any of these ranges: >= 2.6.12 and < 3.2.69; >= 3.3 and < 3.4.108; >= 3.5 and < 3.10.75; >= 3.11 and < 3.12.41; >= 3.13 and < 3.14.39; >= 3.15 and < 3.16.35; >= 3.17 and < 3.18.13; >= 3.19 and < 3.19.5
  2. Verify InfiniBand uverbs devices exist
    List contents of /dev/infiniband/ directory using 'ls -la /dev/infiniband/'
    Affected if Any files matching 'uverbs*' exist in /dev/infiniband/ (for example, /dev/infiniband/uverbs0)
  3. Check permissions on uverbs devices
    Run 'ls -la /dev/infiniband/uverbs*' to view owner, group, and world read/write permissions
    Affected if The device files are readable and writable by non-root users (world-readable/writable or owned by a group the untrusted user belongs to)
  4. Identify users with uverbs access
    Run 'getent group | grep infiniband' and check /dev/infiniband/ device group membership, or use 'stat /dev/infiniband/uverbs*' to see group ownership
    Affected if Untrusted local users have read/write access to uverbs devices through group membership or world permissions

You are affected if your kernel version is within the affected ranges AND untrusted local users can access /dev/infiniband/ uverbs devices with read/write permissions.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 3.2.69 / 3.4.108 / 3.10.75 or later
Fixed in 3.2.693.4.1083.10.75
Interim mitigation

Apply the kernel update (2.6.32-504.12.2 or later) and restrict access to /dev/infiniband/ uverbs devices to trusted local users only.

Fix this in Linux Kernel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2014-8159 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data