# CVE-2010-3079: Null dereference in n/a

> Local users can cause a denial of service via a NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel ftrace subsystem when debugfs is enabled.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 30 Sep 2010
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-24rh-37mj-9hr5

## What is CVE-2010-3079?

CVE-2010-3079 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 30 Sep 2010. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

kernel/trace/ftrace.c in the Linux kernel before 2.6.35.5, when debugfs is enabled, does not properly handle interaction between mutex possession and llseek operations, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and outage of all function tracing files) via an lseek call on a file descriptor associated with the set_ftrace_filter file.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2010-3079?

It affects 5 products.


Products: Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Linux kernel, Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop, Suse Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension, Suse Linux Enterprise Server.

## How do I fix CVE-2010-3079?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2010-3079 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2010-3079 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Canonical Ubuntu Linux

- [CVE-2020-11651](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-11651/): SaltStack Salt Authentication Bypass (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2020-7247](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7247/): OpenSMTPD Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-16928](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16928/): Exim Out-of-bounds Write (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2018-6789](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-6789/): Exim Buffer Overflow (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2015-2590](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-2590/): Oracle Java SE and Java SE Embedded Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2010-3079 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2010-3079 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 30 Sep 2010. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2010-3079 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Canonical Ubuntu Linux. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-3079/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-3079/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2010-3079
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2010-3079
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2010-3079

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-3079/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.