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CVE-2010-4251

26
FAUCET Score

CVE-2010-4251 describes a denial-of-service vulnerability in the Linux kernel's socket implementation (net/core/sock.c) affecting versions prior to 2.6.34, including various enterprise Linux distributions and VMware ESX. This flaw allows remote attackers to exhaust system memory by sending a large volume of network traffic, specifically UDP packets, due to improper management of received packet backlogs. Rated with a CVSS score of 7.5 (High), the vulnerability is easily exploitable over the network with low attack complexity and no user interaction, leading to high availability impact. Despite its severity, there is no evidence of active exploitation, no public exploit code (Metasploit, Nuclei, ExploitDB), and minimal community discussion or media coverage.

Impacted Technologies

VendorProductVersion(s)CPE
< 2.6.34CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
4.0CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esx:4.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
4.1CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esx:4.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
4.0CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:4.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

CVSS Data

CVSS version used by this source: 3.1

7.5HIGH

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

Attack Vector
NETWORK
Attack Complexity
LOW
Privileges Required
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality Impact
NONE
Integrity Impact
NONE
Availability Impact
HIGH
Exploitability Score
3.9
Impact Score
3.6
CvssVersion
3.1

Exploit Intelligence

EPSS Score
3.89%
Probability of exploitation in next 30 days
EPSS Percentile
89.1%
Percentile rank of EPSS score among Peer Group
As of 2026-07-27
Model: v2026.06.15
This CVE's current EPSS score of 0.0389 is in the 81st percentile among its peer group of 51,551 CVEs.

Social Chatter

The average CVE in this peer group has 0.0 Twitter, 0.0 Reddit, 0.1 Bluesky, 0.1 Mastodon, and 0.4 GitHub mentions.

Media Mentions

No media coverage found for this CVE.

The average CVE in this peer group has 0.1 InfoSec Media, 0.0 Vendor Blog, and 0.0 Security Researcher mentions.

Remediation

Patch Available

Vendor Patches (6)

redhatpatch availablevia nvd_reference
View patch
redhatpatch availablevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5Fixed in: kernel-0:2.6.18-238.5.1.el5
View patch
redhatpatch availablevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6Fixed in: kernel-0:2.6.32-131.0.15.el6
View patch
redhatpatch availablevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.0 EUS - Server OnlyFixed in: kernel-0:2.6.32-71.31.1.el6
View patch
vmwarepatch availablevia nvd_reference
View patch
redhatno patchvia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4Fixed in: kernel

Vendor Advisories (1)

redhatCVE-2010-4251Moderate

kernel: unlimited socket backlog DoS

Nov 25, 2010

References

git.kernel.org
kerneltrap.org / mailarchive/linux-netdev/2010/3/3/6271093/thread
Broken Link
bugzilla.redhat.com / show_bug.cgi
Issue TrackingPatchThird Party Advisory
secunia.com / advisories/46397
Broken Link
kernel.org / pub/linux/kernel/v2.6/ChangeLog-2.6.34
Broken Link
securityfocus.com / archive/1/520102/100/0/threaded
Third Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
securityfocus.com / bid/46637
Third Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
vmware.com / security/advisories/VMSA-2011-0012.html
PatchThird Party Advisory