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High severity7.0NVD Advisory· Published Aug 19, 2017· Updated May 13, 2026

CVE-2017-10661

CVE-2017-10661

Description

Race condition in fs/timerfd.c in the Linux kernel before 4.10.15 allows local users to gain privileges or cause a denial of service (list corruption or use-after-free) via simultaneous file-descriptor operations that leverage improper might_cancel queueing.

AI Insight

LLM-synthesized narrative grounded in this CVE's description and references.

Race condition in Linux kernel's timerfd subsystem before 4.10.15 allows local privilege escalation or DoS via simultaneous file-descriptor operations.

Vulnerability

A race condition exists in the fs/timerfd.c file of the Linux kernel before version 4.10.15. The flaw arises from improper handling of might_cancel queueing, which can be triggered by simultaneous file-descriptor operations on the same timerfd object. This issue affects all systems running the affected kernel versions.

Exploitation

An attacker with local access and the ability to execute code can exploit this vulnerability by racing multiple file-descriptor operations (e.g., close(), read(), write()) on a shared timerfd. The race window allows for list corruption or a use-after-free condition, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution.

Impact

Successful exploitation can result in privilege escalation, allowing an attacker to gain root privileges, or cause a denial of service through system crash or kernel memory corruption. The compromise occurs at the kernel level, giving the attacker full control over the system.

Mitigation

The vulnerability is fixed in Linux kernel version 4.10.15 and later. Red Hat has released updates via various errata (e.g., RHSA-2018:3083 [1]). Users should apply the latest kernel updates from their distribution vendor to mitigate the risk.

References
  1. https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3083

AI Insight generated on May 22, 2026. Synthesized from this CVE's description and the cited reference URLs; citations are validated against the source bundle.

Affected products

102

Patches

0

No patches discovered yet.

Vulnerability mechanics

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References

13

News mentions

0

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