CVE-2020-10781

Name: CVE-2020-10781
Creator: NVD / NIST
Published: 2020-09-16T13:15:10.987+00:00
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

MEDIUMCVSS 5.5/10EPSS 0.31%

Last modified Jun 17, 2026

CVE-2020-10781 is a medium-severity vulnerability rated 5.5/10 on the CVSS scale. A flaw was found in the Linux Kernel before 5.8-rc6 in the ZRAM kernel module, where a user with a local account and the ability to read the /sys/class/zram-control/hot_add file can create ZRAM device nodes in the /dev/ directory. This read allocates kernel memory and is not accounted for a user that triggers the creation of that ZRAM device. EPSS estimates a 0.31% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

A flaw was found in the Linux Kernel before 5.8-rc6 in the ZRAM kernel module, where a user with a local account and the ability to read the /sys/class/zram-control/hot_add file can create ZRAM device nodes in the /dev/ directory. This read allocates kernel memory and is not accounted for a user that triggers the creation of that ZRAM device. With this vulnerability, continually reading the device may consume a large amount of system memory and cause the Out-of-Memory (OOM) killer to activate and terminate random userspace processes, possibly making the system inoperable.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

5.5/10

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

EPSS Probability

0.31%

22.8th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions
Linux	Linux Kernel	< 5.8.0
Linux	Linux Kernel	5.8.0
Debian	Debian Linux	9.0

References

https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2020-10781Issue Tracking, Third Party Advisory
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=853eab68afc80f59f36bbdeb715e5c88c501e680Patch, Vendor Advisory
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/09/msg00025.htmlMailing List, Third Party Advisory
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/06/18/1Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2020-10781Issue Tracking, Third Party Advisory
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=853eab68afc80f59f36bbdeb715e5c88c501e680Patch, Vendor Advisory
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/09/msg00025.htmlMailing List, Third Party Advisory
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/06/18/1Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory

Timeline

Published: Sep 16, 2020
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-10781?

How severe is CVE-2020-10781?

CVE-2020-10781 has a CVSS score of 5.5/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.31% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2020-10781?

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-2020-10781?

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

Scan your code now

Source: NVD / NIST