Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2017-9986
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 · uneditedThe intr function in sound/oss/msnd_pinnacle.c in the Linux kernel through 4.11.7 allows local users to cause a denial of service (over-boundary access) or possibly have unspecified other impact by changing the value of a message queue head pointer between two kernel reads of that value, aka a "double fetch" vulnerability.
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 double-fetch race condition exists in the intr function in sound/oss/msnd_pinnacle.c in the Linux kernel through 4.11.7. A local attacker can manipulate the value of a message queue head pointer between two sequential kernel reads of that value, causing out-of-bounds memory access and potentially achieving code execution.
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
<= 4.11.7CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/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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Check kernel versionRun 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version' to get the running kernel versionAffected if Kernel version is 4.11.7 or earlier (any version up to and including 4.11.7)
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Identify if msnd_pinnacle driver is loadedRun 'lsmod | grep msnd' or check /proc/modules for any msnd-related modulesAffected if The msnd_pinnacle or msnd module is loaded into memory
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Check for driver presence in kernelCheck /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/sound/oss/ for msnd_pinnacle.o or msnd_pinnacle.ko, or run 'modinfo msnd_pinnacle'Affected if The msnd_pinnacle driver module exists on the system and can be loaded
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Verify the vulnerable code path existsInspect the source file sound/oss/msnd_pinnacle.c in the kernel source tree if available, looking at the 'intr' function for the double-fetch pattern of the message queue head pointerAffected if The intr function reads the message queue head pointer twice without proper synchronization between reads
A system is affected if it runs a Linux kernel version 4.11.7 or earlier AND has the msnd_pinnacle sound driver loaded or loadable, as the double-fetch race condition in the intr function requires the vulnerable driver to be active.
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 dataApply the upstream kernel patch which adds proper synchronization or reads the pointer value once into a local variable before use. For systems that cannot patch, consider disabling the msnd_pinnacle sound driver if not needed.
Fix this in Linux Kernel
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,192.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-9986 — 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-2017-9986 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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