# CVE-2010-4165: Denial of service in n/a

> Local attackers can cause a kernel denial of service via divide-by-zero or integer errors by setting small TCP MSS values.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.9 (`AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/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:** 20 Nov 2010
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-2x85-3pxc-c227

## What is CVE-2010-4165?

CVE-2010-4165 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 20 Nov 2010. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The do_tcp_setsockopt function in net/ipv4/tcp.c in the Linux kernel before 2.6.37-rc2 does not properly restrict TCP_MAXSEG (aka MSS) values, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (OOPS) via a setsockopt call that specifies a small value, leading to a divide-by-zero error or incorrect use of a signed integer.

Weakness: CWE-369 (Divide By Zero)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2010-4165?

It affects 5 products.


Products: Linux kernel, Opensuse Opensuse, Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop, Suse Linux Enterprise Real Time Extension, Suse Linux Enterprise Server.

## How do I fix CVE-2010-4165?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2010-4165 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2010-4165 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Linux Kernel 2.6.37 - Local Kernel Denial of Service (1) (exploitdb)
- Linux Kernel < 2.6.37-rc2 - 'TCP_MAXSEG' Kernel Panic (Denial of Service) (2) (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2010-4165 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2010-4165 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 20 Nov 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-2010-4165 exists.

Affected product: Linux kernel. 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-2010-4165/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-4165/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2010-4165
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2010-4165
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2010-4165

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-4165/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.