Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2017-11600
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 · uneditednet/xfrm/xfrm_policy.c in the Linux kernel through 4.12.3, when CONFIG_XFRM_MIGRATE is enabled, does not ensure that the dir value of xfrm_userpolicy_id is XFRM_POLICY_MAX or less, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds access) or possibly have unspecified other impact via an XFRM_MSG_MIGRATE xfrm Netlink message.
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 confidenceA bounds check vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel's XFRM (IPsec) subsystem in net/xfrm/xfrm_policy.c. When CONFIG_XFRM_MIGRATE is enabled, the code does not validate that the 'dir' field from xfrm_userpolicy_id is within XFRM_POLICY_MAX bounds before using it as an array index. This allows local users to trigger an out-of-bounds memory access via a specially crafted XFRM_MSG_MIGRATE Netlink message.
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
>= 2.6.21, < 3.2.93>= 3.3, < 3.10.108>= 3.11, < 3.18.70>= 3.19, < 4.1.45>= 4.2, < 4.4.87>= 4.5, < 4.9.48>= 4.10, < 4.12.11CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the running kernel versionRun 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version' to get the kernel versionAffected if The kernel version falls within any of these ranges: >= 2.6.21 and < 3.2.93; >= 3.3 and < 3.10.108; >= 3.11 and < 3.18.70; >= 3.19 and < 4.1.45; >= 4.2 and < 4.4.87; >= 4.5 and < 4.9.48; >= 4.10 and < 4.12.11
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Verify CONFIG_XFRM_MIGRATE is enabledCheck the kernel configuration file for CONFIG_XFRM_MIGRATE=y (found in /boot/config-$(uname -r), /proc/config.gz, or /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/build/.config)Affected if CONFIG_XFRM_MIGRATE is set to y (enabled) in the kernel configuration - if it is not set or set to n, the vulnerable code path is not compiled in
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Confirm XFRM/IPsec is in useCheck for active XFRM policies with 'ip xfrm policy show' or look for IPsec configuration in /etc/ipsec.d/ or /etc/strongswan.conf/Affected if The system has active XFRM policies configured or uses IPsec - without active XFRM policies, the attack surface is minimal even with the vulnerable code present
The system is affected if it runs a kernel version within the affected ranges, has CONFIG_XFRM_MIGRATE enabled in the kernel configuration, and has XFRM/IPsec policies configured or in use.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 data3.2.933.10.1083.18.70
Apply the upstream kernel patch that adds proper bounds checking on the 'dir' field (validating it does not exceed XFRM_POLICY_MAX) before array access, or upgrade to a kernel version beyond 4.12.3 that contains the fix.
Fix this in Linux Kernel
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,072.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-11600 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2017-11600 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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