kernel: tight loop and no preemption can cause system stall
Published May 17, 2012
5.5
MEDIUMCVSS 3.1
EPSS 0.44%
Description
The Linux kernel before 2.6.37 does not properly implement a certain clock-update optimization, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (system hang) via an application that executes code in a loop.
Affected products
No data.
- < 2.6.37
No data.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
kernel-0:2.6.32-220.2.1.el6
Fixed · RHSA-2011:1849
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4
kernel
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
kernel
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise MRG 2
realtime-kernel
Not affected
| Product | Package | State | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | kernel-0:2.6.32-220.2.1.el6 | Fixed | RHSA-2011:1849 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 | kernel | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | kernel | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise MRG 2 | realtime-kernel | Not affected | n/a |
No package ranges for this CVE.
Remediation
Red Hat statement
This issue does not affect Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 and Red Hat Enterprise MRG 2.
Metrics
No CVSS v4.0 score for this CVE.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
No CVSS v3.0 score for this CVE.
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C
This CVE is not in the KEV list.
No CISA SSVC assessment for this CVE yet.
Estimated probability of exploitation in the wild in the next 30 days (FIRST EPSS). As of Oct 1, 2026.
Score over time
2022–2026- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Percentile over time
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Table of values (11 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | 0.44% (0.00441) | 36.01th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 15, 2026 | 0.44% (0.00441) | 34.92th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Mar 17, 2025 | 0.05% (0.00047) | 11.71th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Dec 12, 2024 | 0.04% (0.00042) | 5.07th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 0.04% (0.00042) | 5.63th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 6, 2023 | 0.95% (0.00950) | 32.28th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 13, 2023 | 0.95% (0.00950) | 31.86th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 3, 2023 | 1.03% (0.01034) | 40.96th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Sep 10, 2022 | 0.95% (0.00950) | 30.63th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Apr 1, 2022 | 0.95% (0.00950) | 28.61th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 4, 2022 | 0.95% (0.00950) | 13.46th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
References (8)
- http://ftp.osuosl.org/pub/linux/kernel/v2.6/ChangeLog-2.6.37 x_refsource_CONFIRMBroken Link
- http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=f26f9aff6aaf67e9a430d16c266f91b13a5bff64 x_refsource_CONFIRM
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/12/21/6 mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTExploitMailing ListPatchThird Party Advisory
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2011-4621 Vendor Advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=769711 x_refsource_CONFIRMIssue TrackingPatchThird Party Advisory
- https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/f26f9aff6aaf67e9a430d16c266f91b13a5bff64 x_refsource_CONFIRMPatchThird Party Advisory
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2011-4621
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2011-4621
| Link | Providers | Tags |
|---|---|---|
| http://ftp.osuosl.org/pub/linux/kernel/v2.6/ChangeLog-2.6.37 | x_refsource_CONFIRMBroken Link | |
| http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=f26f9aff6aaf67e9a430d16c266f91b13a5bff64 | x_refsource_CONFIRM | |
| http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/12/21/6 | mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTExploitMailing ListPatchThird Party Advisory | |
| https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2011-4621 | Vendor Advisory | |
| https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=769711 | x_refsource_CONFIRMIssue TrackingPatchThird Party Advisory | |
| https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/f26f9aff6aaf67e9a430d16c266f91b13a5bff64 | x_refsource_CONFIRMPatchThird Party Advisory | |
| https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2011-4621 | ||
| https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2011-4621 |
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.