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CVE-2014-3631

Status: ModifiedHigh (7.2)—Exploit
Severity7.2High · CVSS 2.0
Exploitation probability0.96 %higher than 61% of CVEs
Active exploitationNonot in the CISA catalog
Public exploitAvailablePublished on Exploit-DB

The assoc_array_gc function in the associative-array implementation in lib/assoc_array.c in the Linux kernel before 3.16.3 does not properly implement garbage collection, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and system crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via multiple "keyctl newring" operations followed by a "keyctl timeout" operation.

CVSS

Base score
7.2
Version
2.0
Vector
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Exploitation probability (EPSS)

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
0.96 %
Percentile among all scored CVEs
61
Score date
10/20/2026

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System, FIRST) estimates how likely a vulnerability is to be exploited in the wild within 30 days. It complements CVSS (impact) and CISA KEV (confirmed exploitation).

Public exploits

Exploit code or detection templates are publicly available. This is not the same as confirmed active exploitation (KEV), but it raises the risk: patch with priority.

Affected technologies (1)

Linux — Linux Kernel

CWEs

References

Show 18 references

Raw JSON (NVD)

Show
{
  "id": "CVE-2014-3631",
  "cveTags": [],
  "metrics": {
    "cvssMetricV2": [
      {
        "type": "Primary",
        "source": "nvd@nist.gov",
        "cvssData": {
          "version": "2.0",
          "baseScore": 7.2,
          "accessVector": "LOCAL",
          "vectorString": "AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C",
          "authentication": "NONE",
          "integrityImpact": "COMPLETE",
          "accessComplexity": "LOW",
          "availabilityImpact": "COMPLETE",
          "confidentialityImpact": "COMPLETE"
        },
        "acInsufInfo": false,
        "impactScore": 10,
        "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
        "obtainAllPrivilege": false,
        "exploitabilityScore": 3.9,
        "obtainUserPrivilege": false,
        "obtainOtherPrivilege": false,
        "userInteractionRequired": false
      }
    ]
  },
  "affected": [
    {
      "source": "secalert@redhat.com",
      "affectedData": [
        {
          "vendor": "n/a",
          "product": "n/a",
          "versions": [
            {
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "n/a"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "published": "2014-09-28T10:55:10.377",
  "references": [
    {
      "url": "http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=95389b08d93d5c06ec63ab49bd732b0069b7c35e",
      "tags": [
        "Broken Link"
      ],
      "source": "secalert@redhat.com"
    },
    {
      "url": "http://osvdb.org/show/osvdb/111298",
      "tags": [
        "Broken Link"
      ],
      "source": "secalert@redhat.com"
    },
    {
      "url": "http://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/36268",
      "tags": [
        "Third Party Advisory",
        "VDB Entry"
      ],
      "source": "secalert@redhat.com"
    },
    {
      "url": "http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v3.x/ChangeLog-3.16.3",
      "tags": [
        "Exploit"
      ],
      "source": "secalert@redhat.com"
    },
    {
      "url": "http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/70095",
      "tags": [
        "Third Party Advisory",
        "VDB Entry"
      ],
      "source": "secalert@redhat.com"
    },
    {
      "url": "http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2378-1",
      "tags": [
        "Third Party Advisory",
        "VDB Entry"
      ],
      "source": "secalert@redhat.com"
    },
    {
      "url": "http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2379-1",
      "tags": [
        "Third Party Advisory",
        "VDB Entry"
      ],
      "source": "secalert@redhat.com"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1140325",
      "tags": [
        "Issue Tracking"
      ],
      "source": "secalert@redhat.com"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/95389b08d93d5c06ec63ab49bd732b0069b7c35e",
      "tags": [
        "Exploit"
      ],
      "source": "secalert@redhat.com"
    },
    {
      "url": "http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=95389b08d93d5c06ec63ab49bd732b0069b7c35e",
      "tags": [
        "Broken Link"
      ],
      "source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"
    },
    {
      "url": "http://osvdb.org/show/osvdb/111298",
      "tags": [
        "Broken Link"
      ],
      "source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"
    },
    {
      "url": "http://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/36268",
      "tags": [
        "Third Party Advisory",
        "VDB Entry"
      ],
      "source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"
    },
    {
      "url": "http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v3.x/ChangeLog-3.16.3",
      "tags": [
        "Exploit"
      ],
      "source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"
    },
    {
      "url": "http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/70095",
      "tags": [
        "Third Party Advisory",
        "VDB Entry"
      ],
      "source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"
    },
    {
      "url": "http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2378-1",
      "tags": [
        "Third Party Advisory",
        "VDB Entry"
      ],
      "source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"
    },
    {
      "url": "http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2379-1",
      "tags": [
        "Third Party Advisory",
        "VDB Entry"
      ],
      "source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1140325",
      "tags": [
        "Issue Tracking"
      ],
      "source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/95389b08d93d5c06ec63ab49bd732b0069b7c35e",
      "tags": [
        "Exploit"
      ],
      "source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"
    }
  ],
  "vulnStatus": "Modified",
  "weaknesses": [
    {
      "type": "Primary",
      "source": "nvd@nist.gov",
      "description": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "NVD-CWE-Other"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "descriptions": [
    {
      "lang": "en",
      "value": "The assoc_array_gc function in the associative-array implementation in lib/assoc_array.c in the Linux kernel before 3.16.3 does not properly implement garbage collection, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and system crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via multiple \"keyctl newring\" operations followed by a \"keyctl timeout\" operation."
    },
    {
      "lang": "es",
      "value": "La función assoc_array_gc en la implementación associative-array en lib/assoc_array.c en el kernel de Linux anterior a 3.16.3 no implementa debidamente la recolección de basura, lo que permite a usuarios locales causar una denegación de servicio (referencia a puntero nulo y caída del sistema) o posiblemente tener otro impacto no especificado a través de múltiples operaciones 'keyctl newring' seguidas de una operación 'keyctl timeout'."
    }
  ],
  "lastModified": "2026-06-17T00:08:39.253",
  "configurations": [
    {
      "nodes": [
        {
          "negate": false,
          "cpeMatch": [
            {
              "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
              "vulnerable": true,
              "matchCriteriaId": "FC374559-3F85-41BF-A19D-10E2C20A83F1",
              "versionEndExcluding": "3.14.19",
              "versionStartIncluding": "3.13"
            },
            {
              "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
              "vulnerable": true,
              "matchCriteriaId": "ED968306-E23D-47D4-A2D0-533309AE355C",
              "versionEndExcluding": "3.16.3",
              "versionStartIncluding": "3.15"
            }
          ],
          "operator": "OR"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "evaluatorComment": "CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference",
  "sourceIdentifier": "secalert@redhat.com"
}