CVE-2010-4655

Name: CVE-2010-4655
Creator: NVD / NIST
Published: 2011-07-18T19:55:00.737+00:00
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

MEDIUMCVSS 5.5/10EPSS 0.40%

Last modified Jun 16, 2026

CVE-2010-4655 is a medium-severity vulnerability rated 5.5/10 on the CVSS scale. net/core/ethtool.c in the Linux kernel before 2.6.36 does not initialize certain data structures, which allows local users to obtain potentially sensitive information from kernel heap memory by leveraging the CAP_NET_ADMIN capability for an ethtool ioctl call.. EPSS estimates a 0.40% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

net/core/ethtool.c in the Linux kernel before 2.6.36 does not initialize certain data structures, which allows local users to obtain potentially sensitive information from kernel heap memory by leveraging the CAP_NET_ADMIN capability for an ethtool ioctl call.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

5.5/10

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

EPSS Probability

0.40%

31.7th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-665

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions
Linux	Linux Kernel	< 2.6.36
Vmware	Esx	4.0
Vmware	Esx	4.1
Canonical	Ubuntu Linux	8.04

References

http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=b00916b189d13a615ff05c9242201135992fcda3
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/01/24/9Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/01/25/3Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/01/25/4Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/01/25/5Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/01/28/1Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/46397Broken Link
http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v2.6/ChangeLog-2.6.36Broken Link
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/520102/100/0/threadedThird Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/45972Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1146-1Third Party Advisory
http://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2011-0012.htmlThird Party Advisory
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=672428Issue Tracking, Patch, Third Party Advisory
https://lkml.org/lkml/2010/10/7/297Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory
http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=b00916b189d13a615ff05c9242201135992fcda3
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/01/24/9Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/01/25/3Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/01/25/4Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/01/25/5Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/01/28/1Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/46397Broken Link
http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v2.6/ChangeLog-2.6.36Broken Link
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/520102/100/0/threadedThird Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/45972Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1146-1Third Party Advisory
http://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2011-0012.htmlThird Party Advisory
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=672428Issue Tracking, Patch, Third Party Advisory
https://lkml.org/lkml/2010/10/7/297Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory

Timeline

Published: Jul 18, 2011
Last Modified: Jun 16, 2026
Status: Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2010-4655?

How severe is CVE-2010-4655?

CVE-2010-4655 has a CVSS score of 5.5/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.40% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2010-4655?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

Are you affected by CVE-2010-4655?

Run a free Strix scan to check your systems for this vulnerability.

Scan your code now

Source: NVD / NIST