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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2019-25160

HIGH · 7.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-02-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.16.66 / 3.18.137 or later.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click Patch available

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
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netlabel: fix out-of-bounds memory accesses There are two array out-of-bounds memory accesses, one in cipso_v4_map_lvl_valid(), the other in netlbl_bitmap_walk(). Both errors are embarassingly simple, and the fixes are straightforward. As a FYI for anyone backporting this patch to kernels prior to v4.8, you'll want to apply the netlbl_bitmap_walk() patch to cipso_v4_bitmap_walk() as netlbl_bitmap_walk() doesn't exist before Linux v4.8.

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
How this class of weakness works · CWE-125

The code reads past the end (or before the start) of a buffer, returning memory that was never meant to be exposed. Attackers use it to leak secrets like keys or to defeat memory-protection defences. Remediation is validating indices and lengths before every read.

General guidance for the out-of-bounds read class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

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:>= 2.6.19, < 3.16.66>= 3.17.0, < 3.18.137>= 3.19.0, < 4.4.177>= 4.5.0, < 4.9.163>= 4.10.0, < 4.14.106>= 4.15.0, < 4.19.28>= 4.20.0, < 4.20.15

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
High
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 3.16.66 / 3.18.137 / 4.4.177 or later
Fixed in 3.16.663.18.1374.4.177
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to kernel 3.16.66, 3.18.137, 4.4.177, or 4.9.163 (or later) depending on which major version branch you are on

  1. 1. Identify the currently running Linux kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. 2. Determine which version range your current kernel falls into from the affected versions list
  3. 3. For kernels in the >= 2.6.19, < 3.16.66 range: upgrade to kernel 3.16.66 or later
  4. 4. For kernels in the >= 3.17.0, < 3.18.137 range: upgrade to kernel 3.18.137 or later
  5. 5. For kernels in the >= 3.19.0, < 4.4.177 range: upgrade to kernel 4.4.177 or later
  6. 6. For kernels in the >= 4.5.0, < 4.9.163 range: upgrade to kernel 4.9.163 or later
  7. 7. Alternatively, for kernels prior to v4.8, apply the vendor patch commit 1c973f9c7cc2b3caae93192fdc8ecb3f0b4ac000 to the cipso_v4_bitmap_walk() function instead of netlbl_bitmap_walk()
  8. 8. Reboot into the patched/updated kernel
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuilding out-of-tree kernel modules and could introduce compatibility issues with existing userland tools

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $3,200. Get the upgrade done

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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-2019-25160 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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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