PRNG flaw in Linux kernel created multiple security vulnerabilities
As many as one in 20 web servers could be vulnerable to a weakness in the Linux kernel, according to security researchers.
The same weakness could also expose millions of Android device users to increased risk of tracking.
Cross-layer attacks
The vulnerability (PDF) allows hackers to mount so-called “cross-layer” attacks against the Linux kernel, exploiting a weakness in its pseudo random number generator (PRNG).
This is possible because the UDP source port generation algorithm, the IPv6 flow label generation algorithm, and the IPv4 ID generation algorithm on some Linux-based systems all plug into the flawed PRNG.
After inferring the internal state of the PRNG from one (network) OSI layer, the security weakness makes it possible to use this information to predict the random number value in another OSI layer.
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Predicting the PRNG value open the door to DNS cache poisoning attacks against Linux systems, both on local networks and remotely, although it does require the DNS server to be outside the target’s network.
The flaw also allows hackers to identify and track both Linux and Android devices.
The kernel vulnerability was discovered by Amit Klein, vice president of security research at SafeBreach and a security researcher at Israel’s B ..
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