What is CVE-2011-4080?

CVE-2011-4080 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 4.0 out of 10, classified as a Permissions, Privileges and Access Control flaw (CWE-264). CVE-2011-4080 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2011-4080?

CVE-2011-4080 has a CVSS score of 4.0 out of 10, rated Medium severity. The vector string is AV:L/AC:H/Au:N/C:C/I:N/A:N.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2011-4080?

No patch is currently available for CVE-2011-4080. Monitor the NIST NVD and your Linux distribution's security advisories for updates.

Is CVE-2011-4080 actively exploited?

CVE-2011-4080 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is Permissions, Privileges and Access Control (CWE-264)?

Weaknesses in this category are related to the management of permissions, privileges, and access controls. See MITRE CWE for full details: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/264.html

CVE-2011-4080

Medium

The sysrq_sysctl_handler function in kernel/sysctl.c in the Linux kernel before 2.6.39 does not require the CAP_SYS_ADMIN capability to modify the dmesg_restrict value, which allows local users to bypass intended access restrictions and read the kernel ring buffer by leveraging root privileges, as demonstrated by a root user in a Linux Containers (aka LXC) environment.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2012-05-24

Last modified 2026-04-29

CVSS version 2.0

Patch available

Awaiting data

CVSS 2.0 score

4.0

out of 10

Medium

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

High

Privileges Required

User Interaction

Scope

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

None

Availability

None

Vector string

AV:L/AC:H/Au:N/C:C/I:N/A:N

Weakness type

CWE-264

CVE-2011-4080 is a Permissions, Privileges and Access Control vulnerability

What is Permissions, Privileges and Access Control?

Weaknesses in this category are related to the management of permissions, privileges, and access controls. Learn more on MITRE CWE

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2011-4080 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Ftp
http://ftp.osuosl.org/pub/linux/kernel/v2.6/ChangeLog-2.6.39

Broken Link
Openwall
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/10/26/10

Mailing List Third Party Advisory
Kernel patch commit
http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=bfdc0b497faa82a0ba2f9dddcf109231dd519fcc
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/bfdc0b497faa82a0ba2f9dddcf109231dd519fcc
Patch

Details

CVE ID CVE-2011-4080

Severity Medium

CVSS score 4.0 / 10

CVSS version 2.0

Published 2012-05-24

Modified 2026-04-29

KEV No

Patch Awaiting data

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2011-4080?

CVE-2011-4080 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 4.0 out of 10 , classified as a Permissions, Privileges and Access Control flaw (CWE-264) . CVE-2011-4080 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2011-4080?

CVE-2011-4080 has a CVSS score of 4.0 out of 10, rated Medium severity (CVSS 2.0). The vector string is AV:L/AC:H/Au:N/C:C/I:N/A:N.
Is there a patch available for CVE-2011-4080?

No patch is currently available for CVE-2011-4080. Monitor the NIST NVD and your Linux distribution's security advisories for updates.
Is CVE-2011-4080 actively exploited?

No — CVE-2011-4080 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.
What is Permissions, Privileges and Access Control (CWE-264)?

Weaknesses in this category are related to the management of permissions, privileges, and access controls. View CWE-264 on MITRE CWE →