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CVE-2020-28974A slab-out-of-bounds read in fbcon in the Linux kernel before 5.9.7 could be used by local attackers to read privileged information or…
- 5.0MediumCVSS base score
- 0.52%Exploitation in 30 daysEPSS · top 55% of all CVEs
- NoKnown exploitednot in CISA's KEV catalog
- NonePublic exploitsnone known yet
Description
A slab-out-of-bounds read in fbcon in the Linux kernel before 5.9.7 could be used by local attackers to read privileged information or potentially crash the kernel, aka CID-3c4e0dff2095. This occurs because KD_FONT_OP_COPY in drivers/tty/vt/vt.c can be used for manipulations such as font height.
Timeline
ID reserved
By mitre
Published
- 4 years later
· 4 years later
Record updated
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVDNVD · Modified | 3.1 | Medium5.0 | CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 0.52% · top 55% of all CVEs (13 Nov 2026)
Loading the EPSS history…
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: Medium 5.0.
Affected products
n/a
- affected n/a
References
References7
- https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=3c4e0dff2095c579b142d5a0693257f1c58b4804 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- https://seclists.org/oss-sec/2020/q4/104 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- https://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/ChangeLog-5.9.7 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- [oss-security] 20201124 Re: Linux kernel slab-out-of-bounds Read in fbcon (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTx_transferred
- [debian-lts-announce] 20201210 [SECURITY] [DLA 2483-1] linux-4.19 security update (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTx_transferred
- [debian-lts-announce] 20201218 [SECURITY] [DLA 2494-1] linux security update (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTx_transferred
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210108-0003/ (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- EUVD EUVD-2020-21358 (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://cveledger.app/cve/CVE-2020-28974)Record last updated .