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CVE-2011-2517

23
FAUCET Score

CVE-2011-2517 describes multiple buffer overflows in the Linux kernel's wireless networking component (nl80211.c) affecting versions prior to 2.6.39.2. This vulnerability allows local users with CAP_NET_ADMIN privileges to escalate their privileges by providing an excessively long SSID during scan operations. With a CVSS score of 7.2 (High), this vulnerability has a low attack complexity and can lead to complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability. There is no evidence of active exploitation, public exploit code (Metasploit, Nuclei, ExploitDB), or significant community discussion or media coverage surrounding this CVE.

Impacted Technologies

VendorProductVersion(s)CPE
< 2.6.39.2CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
5.0CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:5.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
5.0CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_desktop:5.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
5.0CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_server:5.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
5.0CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_workstation:5.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

CVSS Data

CVSS version used by this source: 2.0

7.2HIGH

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

Confidentiality Impact
COMPLETE
Integrity Impact
COMPLETE
Availability Impact
COMPLETE
Access Vector
LOCAL
Access Complexity
LOW
Authentication
NONE
Exploitability Score
3.9
Impact Score
10.0
CvssVersion
2.0

Exploit Intelligence

EPSS Score
0.38%
Probability of exploitation in next 30 days
EPSS Percentile
30.3%
Percentile rank of EPSS score among Peer Group
As of 2026-07-27
Model: v2026.06.15
This CVE's current EPSS score of 0.0038 is in the 37th percentile among its peer group of 3,241 CVEs.

Social Chatter

The average CVE in this peer group has 0.0 Twitter, 0.0 Reddit, 0.1 Bluesky, 0.0 Mastodon, and 0.5 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)

github_advisorypatch availablevia nvd_reference
View patch
redhatpatch availablevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5Fixed in: kernel-0:2.6.18-274.3.1.el5
View patch
redhatpatch availablevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.6 EUS - Server OnlyFixed in: kernel-0:2.6.18-238.31.1.el5
View patch
redhatpatch availablevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6Fixed in: kernel-0:2.6.32-131.12.1.el6
View patch
redhatpatch availablevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise MRG 2Fixed in: kernel-rt-0:2.6.33.9-rt31.75.el6rt
View patch
redhatno patchvia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux Extended Update Support 5.7Fixed in: kernel

Vendor Advisories (1)

redhatCVE-2011-2517Important

kernel: nl80211: missing check for valid SSID size in scan operations

May 18, 2011

References

ftp.osuosl.org / pub/linux/kernel/v2.6/ChangeLog-2.6.39.2
Broken Link
git.kernel.org
rhn.redhat.com / errata/RHSA-2011-1212.html
Third Party Advisory
bugzilla.redhat.com / show_bug.cgi
Issue TrackingThird Party Advisory
github.com / torvalds/linux/commit/208c72f4fe44fe09577e7975ba0e7fa0278f3d03
PatchThird Party Advisory
openwall.com / lists/oss-security/2011/07/01/4
Mailing ListThird Party Advisory