kernel: NULL pointer dereference if close and fchownat system calls share a socket file descriptor
Published Jun 12, 2018
5.9
MEDIUMCVSS 3.0
EPSS 6.53%
Description
In net/socket.c in the Linux kernel through 4.17.1, there is a race condition between fchownat and close in cases where they target the same socket file descriptor, related to the sock_close and sockfs_setattr functions. fchownat does not increment the file descriptor reference count, which allows close to set the socket to NULL during fchownat's execution, leading to a NULL pointer dereference and system crash.
Affected products
No data.
- ≤ 4.17.1
No data.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
kernel-alt-0:4.14.0-115.el7a
Fixed · RHSA-2018:2948
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
kernel
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
kernel
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
kernel
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
kernel-rt
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
kernel
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise MRG 2
kernel-rt
Not affected
| Product | Package | State | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | kernel-alt-0:4.14.0-115.el7a | Fixed | RHSA-2018:2948 |
| 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 | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | kernel-rt | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | kernel | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise MRG 2 | kernel-rt | Not affected | n/a |
No package ranges for this CVE.
Remediation
No remediation recorded yet.
Metrics
No CVSS v4.0 score for this CVE.
No CVSS v3.1 score for this CVE.
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
1 other source (Red Hat) ▾
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
AV:N/AC:M/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
2021–2026- EPSS v1
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Percentile over time
- EPSS v1
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Table of values (22 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | 6.53% (0.06526) | 93.58th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 15, 2026 | 6.61% (0.06609) | 92.96th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Nov 18, 2025 | 2.34% (0.02336) | 83.51th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 29, 2025 | 3.70% (0.03697) | 79.63th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 17, 2025 | 2.63% (0.02629) | 84.67th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Dec 12, 2024 | 0.59% (0.00593) | 79.06th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| May 22, 2024 | 0.59% (0.00593) | 78.31th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Apr 16, 2024 | 0.60% (0.00603) | 78.24th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Jan 30, 2024 | 0.60% (0.00603) | 76.23th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Dec 13, 2023 | 0.64% (0.00644) | 76.94th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Nov 3, 2023 | 0.76% (0.00757) | 79.06th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Jul 8, 2023 | 1.08% (0.01080) | 82.29th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Jun 6, 2023 | 1.52% (0.01517) | 85.09th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| May 8, 2023 | 1.23% (0.01229) | 83.31th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 0.87% (0.00873) | 79.91th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 6, 2023 | 3.81% (0.03806) | 85.56th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Apr 1, 2022 | 3.81% (0.03806) | 84.08th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 4, 2022 | 3.81% (0.03806) | 67.27th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 3, 2022 | 3.59% (0.03590) | 68.40th | v1 |
| Jan 6, 2022 | 3.59% (0.03590) | 68.10th | v1 |
| Sep 1, 2021 | 3.59% (0.03590) | 82.08th | v1 |
| Apr 14, 2021 | 3.59% (0.03590) | 0.00th | v1 |
References (13)
- http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=6d8c50dcb029872b298eea68cc6209c866fd3e14 x_refsource_MISCPatchThird Party Advisory
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/104453 vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:2948 vendor-advisoryx_refsource_REDHAT
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2018-12232 Vendor Advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1590215 Issue Tracking
- https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/6d8c50dcb029872b298eea68cc6209c866fd3e14 x_refsource_MISCPatchThird Party Advisory
- https://lkml.org/lkml/2018/6/5/14 x_refsource_MISCThird Party Advisory
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-12232
- https://patchwork.ozlabs.org/patch/926519/ x_refsource_MISCPatchThird Party Advisory
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/3752-1/ vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTU
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/3752-2/ vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTU
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/3752-3/ vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTU
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-12232
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.