CVE-2019-19922

moderate-risk
Published 2019-12-22

kernel/sched/fair.c in the Linux kernel before 5.3.9, when cpu.cfs_quota_us is used (e.g., with Kubernetes), allows attackers to cause a denial of service against non-cpu-bound applications by generating a workload that triggers unwanted slice expiration, aka CID-de53fd7aedb1. (In other words, although this slice expiration would typically be seen with benign workloads, it is possible that an attacker could calculate how many stray requests are required to force an entire Kubernetes cluster into a low-performance state caused by slice expiration, and ensure that a DDoS attack sent that number of stray requests. An attack does not affect the stability of the kernel; it only causes mismanagement of application execution.)

Do I need to act?

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0.11% 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 Vendors

36
/ 100
moderate-risk
Severity 18/34 · Moderate
Exploitability 0/34 · Minimal
Exposure 18/34 · Moderate