What is CVE-2011-4594?

CVE-2011-4594 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, classified as a NULL Pointer Dereference flaw (CWE-476). CVE-2011-4594 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2011-4594?

CVE-2011-4594 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity. The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2011-4594?

No patch is currently available for CVE-2011-4594. Monitor the NIST NVD and your Linux distribution's security advisories for updates.

Is CVE-2011-4594 actively exploited?

CVE-2011-4594 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476)?

The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL, typically causing a crash. See MITRE CWE for full details: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/476.html

CVE-2011-4594

Medium

The __sys_sendmsg function in net/socket.c in the Linux kernel before 3.1 allows local users to cause a denial of service (system crash) via crafted use of the sendmmsg system call, leading to an incorrect pointer dereference.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2012-05-17

Last modified 2026-04-29

CVSS version 3.1

Patch available

Awaiting data

CVSS 3.1 score

5.5

out of 10

Medium

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

None

Availability

High

Vector string

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Weakness type

CWE-476

CVE-2011-4594 is a NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability

What is NULL Pointer Dereference?

The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL, typically causing a crash. Learn more on MITRE CWE

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2011-4594 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Openwall
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/12/08/4

Mailing List Third Party Advisory
Kernel patch commit
http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=bc909d9ddbf7778371e36a651d6e4194b1cc7d4c
Patch
Kernel patch commit
http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v3.x/ChangeLog-3.1
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=761646
Patch

4 patch commits total View all on NVD

Details

CVE ID CVE-2011-4594

Severity Medium

CVSS score 5.5 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2012-05-17

Modified 2026-04-29

KEV No

Patch Awaiting data

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2011-4594?

CVE-2011-4594 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 , classified as a NULL Pointer Dereference flaw (CWE-476) . CVE-2011-4594 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2011-4594?

CVE-2011-4594 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
Is there a patch available for CVE-2011-4594?

No patch is currently available for CVE-2011-4594. Monitor the NIST NVD and your Linux distribution's security advisories for updates.
Is CVE-2011-4594 actively exploited?

No — CVE-2011-4594 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.
What is NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476)?

The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL, typically causing a crash. View CWE-476 on MITRE CWE →