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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2014-8171

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-02-09
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 memory resource controller (aka memcg) in the Linux kernel allows local users to cause a denial of service (deadlock) by spawning new processes within a memory-constrained cgroup.

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 memory resource controller (memcg) in the Linux kernel contains a deadlock vulnerability where local users can trigger a deadlock by spawning new processes within a memory-constrained cgroup. This occurs because the memcg implementation does not properly handle memory allocation failures during process creation in constrained cgroups.

MitigationUpdate the Linux kernel to a version that includes the fix for this vulnerability. Apply vendor-specific kernel security patches if running a distribution kernel.

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:all versions
Enterprise LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 6.0= 7.0
Enterprise MrgOperating system
Affected:= 2.0

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
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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 obtain the running kernel version. Compare this against RHEL 6.0, RHEL 7.0, or RHEL Mrg 2.0, or any unpatched Linux kernel version.
    Affected if The kernel version matches an affected version (RHEL 6.0, 7.0, MRG 2.0, or any Linux kernel without the CVE-2014-8171 fix).
  2. Verify memcg is enabled
    Check if memory cgroup support is active by running 'cat /proc/cgroups' and looking for 'memory' with a value of 1, or check kernel config with 'grep -i memcg /boot/config-$(uname -r)' or 'zcat /proc/config.gz 2>/dev/null | grep -i memcg'.
    Affected if Memcg is enabled (memory cgroup support is compiled into the kernel).
  3. Identify active memory-constrained cgroups
    List cgroup hierarchies with memory limits by running 'mount | grep cgroup' and then checking for memory limit files in relevant cgroup directories (typically under /cgroup or /sys/fs/cgroup). Look for files named 'memory.limit_in_bytes' or 'memory.memsw.limit_in_bytes' that are set to finite values.
    Affected if There exist cgroups with memory limits (memory.limit_in_bytes or memory.memsw.limit_in_bytes set to specific values rather than 'max').
  4. Check for processes in constrained cgroups
    Identify processes running within memory-constrained cgroups by checking 'cat /proc/<pid>/cgroup' for multiple processes, or list cgroup tasks files (e.g., cat /sys/fs/cgroup/memory/<cgroup_name>/tasks) to see if processes exist in constrained cgroups.
    Affected if There are active processes running inside memory-constrained cgroups.

A system is affected if it runs a vulnerable kernel version (RHEL 6.0, 7.0, MRG 2.0, or any unpatched Linux kernel), has memcg enabled, and has memory-constrained cgroups with active processes that local users can access.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update the Linux kernel to a version that includes the fix for this vulnerability. Apply vendor-specific kernel security patches if running a distribution kernel.

Fix this in Linux Kernel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,680
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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-2014-8171 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
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