CVE-2009-2692: Debian Linux

High severity, CVSS 7.8. EPSS: 14.6% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

The Linux kernel 2.6.0 through 2.6.30.4, and 2.4.4 through 2.4.37.4, does not initialize all function pointers for socket operations in proto_ops structures, which allows local users to trigger a NULL pointer dereference and gain privileges by using mmap to map page zero, placing arbitrary code on this page, and then invoking an unavailable operation, as demonstrated by the sendpage operation (sock_sendpage function) on a PF_PPPOX socket.

Affected products

• Debian Debian Linux: version 4.0 only
• Linux Linux Kernel: from 2.4.4, before 2.4.37.5 (fixed in 2.4.37.5); from 2.6.0, before 2.6.30.5 (fixed in 2.6.30.5)
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop: version 4.0 only; version 5.0 only
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Eus: version 4.8 only; version 5.3 only
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server: version 4.0 only; version 5.0 only
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Aus: version 5.3 only
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation: version 4.0 only; version 5.0 only
• Suse Linux Enterprise Real Time: version 10 only

Published 2009-08-14. Last modified 2026-06-16.