CVE-2012-6689
The netlink_sendmsg function in net/netlink/af_netlink.c in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 does not validate the dst_pid field, which allows local users to have an unspecified impact by spoofing Netlink messages.
Does this matter?
High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (0.31%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit.
Description
The netlink_sendmsg function in net/netlink/af_netlink.c in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 does not validate the dst_pid field, which allows local users to have an unspecified impact by spoofing Netlink messages.
- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- EPSS
- 0.31% probability · 24th percentile
- Public exploits
- None in Exploit-DB
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Weakness
- CWE-284
- Affected
- linux/linux kernel
- Source
- cve@mitre.org
EPSS 0.3% since 26 October 2026; no change recorded yet. Points are recorded when the score first appears and whenever it moves by a percentage point or more.
References
- http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=20e1db19db5d6b9e4e83021595eab0dc8f107befPatch, Vendor Advisory
- http://marc.info/?l=linux-netdev&m=134522422125983&w=2Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
- http://marc.info/?l=linux-netdev&m=134522422925986&w=2Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
- http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v3.x/ChangeLog-3.5.5Release Notes, Vendor Advisory
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2015/02/22/10Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/72739Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=848949Issue Tracking, Third Party Advisory
- https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/20e1db19db5d6b9e4e83021595eab0dc8f107befThird Party Advisory
- http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=20e1db19db5d6b9e4e83021595eab0dc8f107befPatch, Vendor Advisory
- http://marc.info/?l=linux-netdev&m=134522422125983&w=2Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
- http://marc.info/?l=linux-netdev&m=134522422925986&w=2Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
- http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v3.x/ChangeLog-3.5.5Release Notes, Vendor Advisory
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2015/02/22/10Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/72739Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=848949Issue Tracking, Third Party Advisory
- https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/20e1db19db5d6b9e4e83021595eab0dc8f107befThird Party Advisory
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA, exploits from Exploit-DB. Refreshed daily. Download this record as JSON.