CVE-2019-15031

Name: CVE-2019-15031
Creator: NVD / NIST
Published: 2019-09-13T13:15:11.557+00:00
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

MEDIUMCVSS 4.4/10EPSS 0.56%

Last modified Jun 17, 2026

CVE-2019-15031 is a medium-severity vulnerability rated 4.4/10 on the CVSS scale. In the Linux kernel through 5.2.14 on the powerpc platform, a local user can read vector registers of other users' processes via an interrupt. To exploit the venerability, a local user starts a transaction (via the hardware transactional memory instruction tbegin) and then accesses vector registers. EPSS estimates a 0.56% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

In the Linux kernel through 5.2.14 on the powerpc platform, a local user can read vector registers of other users' processes via an interrupt. To exploit the venerability, a local user starts a transaction (via the hardware transactional memory instruction tbegin) and then accesses vector registers. At some point, the vector registers will be corrupted with the values from a different local Linux process, because MSR_TM_ACTIVE is misused in arch/powerpc/kernel/process.c.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

4.4/10

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

EPSS Probability

0.56%

42.0th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-662

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions
Linux	Linux Kernel	<= 5.2.14
Canonical	Ubuntu Linux	12.04
Canonical	Ubuntu Linux	14.04
Canonical	Ubuntu Linux	16.04
Canonical	Ubuntu Linux	18.04
Canonical	Ubuntu Linux	19.04
Opensuse	Leap	15.0
Opensuse	Leap	15.1
Redhat	Enterprise Linux	7.0
Redhat	Enterprise Linux	8.0

References

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-09/msg00064.htmlThird Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-09/msg00066.htmlThird Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2019/09/10/4Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=a8318c13e79badb92bc6640704a64cc022a6eb97Exploit, Mailing List, Patch, Vendor Advisory
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20191004-0001/Third Party Advisory
https://usn.ubuntu.com/4135-1/Third Party Advisory
https://usn.ubuntu.com/4135-2/Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-09/msg00064.htmlThird Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-09/msg00066.htmlThird Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2019/09/10/4Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=a8318c13e79badb92bc6640704a64cc022a6eb97Exploit, Mailing List, Patch, Vendor Advisory
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20191004-0001/Third Party Advisory
https://usn.ubuntu.com/4135-1/Third Party Advisory
https://usn.ubuntu.com/4135-2/Third Party Advisory

Timeline

Published: Sep 13, 2019
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2019-15031?

How severe is CVE-2019-15031?

CVE-2019-15031 has a CVSS score of 4.4/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.56% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2019-15031?

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-2019-15031?

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

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Source: NVD / NIST