kernel: NULL pointer dereference in madvise(MADV_WILLNEED) support
Published Mar 16, 2015
6.2
MEDIUMCVSS 3.0
EPSS 0.40%
Description
The pmd_none_or_trans_huge_or_clear_bad function in include/asm-generic/pgtable.h in the Linux kernel before 3.13 on NUMA systems does not properly determine whether a Page Middle Directory (PMD) entry is a transparent huge-table entry, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and system crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted MADV_WILLNEED madvise system call that leverages the absence of a page-table lock.
Affected products
No data.
- ≥ 3.9 · < 3.10.76
- ≥ 3.11 · < 3.12.43
No data.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
kernel-0:3.10.0-229.el7
Fixed · RHSA-2015:0290
Red Hat Enterprise MRG 2
kernel-rt-1:3.10.0-229.rt56.144.el6rt
Fixed · RHSA-2015:0694
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
kernel
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
kernel
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
kernel-rt
Not affected
| Product | Package | State | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | kernel-0:3.10.0-229.el7 | Fixed | RHSA-2015:0290 |
| Red Hat Enterprise MRG 2 | kernel-rt-1:3.10.0-229.rt56.144.el6rt | Fixed | RHSA-2015:0694 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | kernel | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | kernel | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | kernel-rt | Not affected | n/a |
No package ranges for this CVE.
Remediation
Red Hat statement
This issue does not affect the Linux kernel packages as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 and 6. This issue does affect the Linux kernel packages as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 and MRG-2. Future updates for the respective releases may address this issue.
Metrics
No CVSS v4.0 score for this CVE.
No CVSS v3.1 score for this CVE.
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/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 | 0.40% (0.00404) | 32.27th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 15, 2026 | 0.40% (0.00404) | 31.96th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Mar 17, 2025 | 0.10% (0.00102) | 25.67th | 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 | 1.03% (0.01034) | 41.69th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 13, 2023 | 1.03% (0.01034) | 41.16th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 3, 2023 | 1.54% (0.01537) | 73.85th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Sep 10, 2022 | 1.03% (0.01034) | 39.91th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Apr 1, 2022 | 1.03% (0.01034) | 37.91th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 4, 2022 | 1.03% (0.01034) | 20.32th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
References (9)
- http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=ee53664bda169f519ce3c6a22d378f0b946c8178 x_refsource_CONFIRMBroken Link
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2015-04/msg00009.html vendor-advisoryx_refsource_SUSEThird Party Advisory
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-0290.html vendor-advisoryx_refsource_REDHATThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-0694.html vendor-advisoryx_refsource_REDHATThird Party Advisory
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2014-8173 Vendor Advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1198457 x_refsource_CONFIRMIssue Tracking
- https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/ee53664bda169f519ce3c6a22d378f0b946c8178 x_refsource_CONFIRMThird Party Advisory
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-8173
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2014-8173
| Link | Providers | Tags |
|---|---|---|
| http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=ee53664bda169f519ce3c6a22d378f0b946c8178 | x_refsource_CONFIRMBroken Link | |
| http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2015-04/msg00009.html | vendor-advisoryx_refsource_SUSEThird Party Advisory | |
| http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-0290.html | vendor-advisoryx_refsource_REDHATThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry | |
| http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-0694.html | vendor-advisoryx_refsource_REDHATThird Party Advisory | |
| https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2014-8173 | Vendor Advisory | |
| https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1198457 | x_refsource_CONFIRMIssue Tracking | |
| https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/ee53664bda169f519ce3c6a22d378f0b946c8178 | x_refsource_CONFIRMThird Party Advisory | |
| https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-8173 | ||
| https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2014-8173 |
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.