# CVE-2011-1083: Denial of service in n/a > Local attackers can cause a denial of service via CPU consumption by exploiting improper tree traversal in the Linux kernel's epoll implementation. - **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:** 3 Apr 2011 - **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024 - **Also known as:** GHSA-vx34-r39m-w274, RHBA-2012:0496, RHSA-2012:0150 ## What is CVE-2011-1083? CVE-2011-1083 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 3 Apr 2011. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim. ### Official description The epoll implementation in the Linux kernel 2.6.37.2 and earlier does not properly traverse a tree of epoll file descriptors, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (CPU consumption) via a crafted application that makes epoll_create and epoll_ctl system calls. Weakness: CWE-400 (Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2011-1083? It affects 6 products. | Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `kernel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel-PAE` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel-PAE-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel-PAE-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel-debug` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel-debug-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel-debug-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel-debuginfo-common` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel-doc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel-xen` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel-xen-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel-xen-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel-PAE` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel-PAE-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel-PAE-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel-debug` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel-debug-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel-debug-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel-debuginfo-common` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel-doc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel-kdump` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel-kdump-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel-kdump-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel-xen` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel-xen-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel-xen-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server | All versions | 0:2.6.18-308.el5 | | `kernel-rt` | Red Hat:enterprise_mrg:2:server:el6 | All versions | 0:3.0.25-rt44.57.el6rt | | `kernel-rt-debug` | Red Hat:enterprise_mrg:2:server:el6 | All versions | 0:3.0.25-rt44.57.el6rt | | `kernel-rt-debug-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_mrg:2:server:el6 | All versions | 0:3.0.25-rt44.57.el6rt | | `kernel-rt-debug-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_mrg:2:server:el6 | All versions | 0:3.0.25-rt44.57.el6rt | | `kernel-rt-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_mrg:2:server:el6 | All versions | 0:3.0.25-rt44.57.el6rt | | `kernel-rt-debuginfo-common-x86_64` | Red Hat:enterprise_mrg:2:server:el6 | All versions | 0:3.0.25-rt44.57.el6rt | | `kernel-rt-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_mrg:2:server:el6 | All versions | 0:3.0.25-rt44.57.el6rt | | `kernel-rt-doc` | Red Hat:enterprise_mrg:2:server:el6 | All versions | 0:3.0.25-rt44.57.el6rt | | `kernel-rt-firmware` | Red Hat:enterprise_mrg:2:server:el6 | All versions | 0:3.0.25-rt44.57.el6rt | Products: Linux kernel, Redhat Enterprise Linux Desktop, Redhat Enterprise Linux Server, Redhat Enterprise Linux Workstation, Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop, Suse Linux Enterprise Server. ## How do I fix CVE-2011-1083? Apply the vendor's patch. ## Is CVE-2011-1083 being exploited? It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2011-1083 exists. Public exploit code: - Linux Kernel 2.6.x - epoll Nested Structures Local Denial of Service (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-2011-1083 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2011-1083 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 3 Apr 2011. 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-2011-1083 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-2011-1083/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-1083/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2011-1083 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2011-1083 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2011-1083 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-1083/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.