# CVE-2010-3301: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Local attackers can gain privileges by exploiting a regression in IA32 system call emulation that fails to zero-extend the %eax register.

- **Severity:** High 7.2 (`AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C`)
- **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:** 22 Sep 2010
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-79mw-6jhw-7997

## What is CVE-2010-3301?

CVE-2010-3301 is a high-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 22 Sep 2010. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The IA32 system call emulation functionality in arch/x86/ia32/ia32entry.S in the Linux kernel before 2.6.36-rc4-git2 on the x86_64 platform does not zero extend the %eax register after the 32-bit entry path to ptrace is used, which allows local users to gain privileges by triggering an out-of-bounds access to the system call table using the %rax register.  NOTE: this vulnerability exists because of a CVE-2007-4573 regression.

Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2010-3301?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Linux kernel, Suse Linux Enterprise Real Time Extension.

## How do I fix CVE-2010-3301?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2010-3301 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2010-3301 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Linux Kernel < 2.6.36-rc4-git2 (x86-64) - 'ia32syscall' Emulation Privilege Escalation (exploitdb)

## 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-2010-3301 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2010-3301 is a high-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 22 Sep 2010. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2010-3301 exists.

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-2010-3301/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-3301/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2010-3301
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2010-3301
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2010-3301

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-3301/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.