CVE-2017-11171

low-risk
Published 2017-07-11

Bad reference counting in the context of accept_ice_connection() in gsm-xsmp-server.c in old versions of gnome-session up until version 2.29.92 allows a local attacker to establish ICE connections to gnome-session with invalid authentication data (an invalid magic cookie). Each failed authentication attempt will leak a file descriptor in gnome-session. When the maximum number of file descriptors is exhausted in the gnome-session process, it will enter an infinite loop trying to communicate without success, consuming 100% of the CPU. The graphical session associated with the gnome-session process will stop working correctly, because communication with gnome-session is no longer possible.

Do I need to act?

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0.16% chance of exploitation
EPSS score — low exploit probability
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Not on CISA KEV list
No confirmed active exploitation reported to CISA
?
Patch status unknown
Check vendor advisories for fix availability and mitigation guidance
5
CVSS 5.5/10 Medium
LOCAL / LOW complexity

Affected Products (1)

Gnome-Session

Affected Vendors

24
/ 100
low-risk
Severity 18/34 · Moderate
Exploitability 1/34 · Minimal
Exposure 5/34 · Minimal